Wales are looking to capitalise on the explosion of interest in rugby after the World Cup and develop the next generation, writes The Guardian's Paul Rees.

"Wales may be saying farewell to their long-serving wing Shane Williams on Saturday but their focus is on the future. It is some while since the World Cup semi-finalists enjoyed sustained success and after a campaign in New Zealand that fired the public imagination in one of the few nations in the world where rugby union can claim to be the national sport, the Welsh Rugby Union is wasting no time in ensuring there is a legacy for the game to build on.

"The governing body appointed an extra 18 development officers throughout the country last month to exploit the explosion in interest generated by Wales's World Cup exploits: there was a bigger crowd in the Millennium Stadium to watch the semi-final against France on a big screen than there was at the ground staging the game, Auckland's Eden Park, and a fervour rarely seen since Welsh rugby's golden era in the 1970s.

"The WRU, which too often in the past has preferred to bask in the glory of success rather than attempt to harness it, has initiated a project called Heart of the Nation – Join the Beat, which is designed to bottle the spirit of the World Cup and ferment something even stronger that will sustain the game well beyond the next two World Cups."

Wales' Shane Williams is set for his final Test appearance against Australia on Saturday © Getty Images

Writing in the Western Mail, Gwyn Jones pays tribute to Wales' Shane Williams as he prepares to make his last international appearance.

"Looking back it was probably during the 2003 World Cup, when his characteristic darting runs lit up the tournament, that he finally established himself as an integral part of the Welsh team. And in the subsequent eight years Wales has been excited, enthralled and entertained by the devastating running ability of our left wing.

"He has been at the centre of two Grand Slams and a magnificent World Cup campaign. What is more remarkable is that in a period when the game has changed more than at any other time in its history, Shane has managed to adapt, evolve and master every single challenge that came his way.

"He was small, indeed he still is, but thanks to the hours of training he kept the raw speed, elegant balance and agility but combined it phenomenal power.

"What endears many supporters to him is his appetite for work, his willingness to have a go and by daring to be the man that makes the difference."

The Independent's James Corrigan reflects on the career of Wales' favourite son Shane Williams.

"So this is how it worked out. Ben Cohen was one of the try scorers as England rout Wales and afterwards when asked how he thought Shane Williams played he replied: "Shane Who?" Eight years later, Williams wins the International Rugby Board's World Player of the Year, while Cohen wins Sports Personality of the Year – presented by Gay Times.

No shame there. Cohen is proud of his gay icon image and should be applauded for the work of his Stand-up Foundation which seeks to combat homophobia and bullying. Furthermore, Cohen has no reason to be red-faced concerning his international career. He won 57 caps and is third in England's all-time list of try-scorers. As a World Cup winner he can claim to be a success story."

Warren Gatland has urged Wales stars to put themselves in pole position for 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia starting when they tackle the Wallabies in Cardiff next weekend. The Wales on Sunday reports.

"The dust has barely settled on the 2011 World Cup when Australia beat Wales to third place with a 21-18 victory in the bronze medal match at Auckland’s Eden Park. But Gatland is already focusing on the future and feels Wales’ four Tests with Australia in the next five months provides his stars with an advantage to become Lions heroes in 2013.

"That tour of Australia is little more than 18 months away – but Wales will have a three-Test taster there next June after Saturday’s Millennium Stadium revenge mission.

“Those players who go to Australia will give themselves an opportunity to put their names to the forefront for the 2013 Lions tour,” said Gatland. "It does give you an advantage if you’ve toured there and been successful. You’re familiar with the conditions and the elements and we’ve seen that with Wales."

The Western Mail's Delme Parfitt reveals the results of a nationwide survey to find Welsh fans' Greatest Ever Wales XV.

"Fullback: JPR Williams - If we’d been choosing a greatest ever world XV, JPR would probably have been favourite for this jersey, so it’s no surprise he’s got the nod here.

"His 95% backing is bigger than that given for any other player in our poll, underlining just how revered and iconic the former Junior Wimbledon winner remains.

"As part of the swaggering 1970s era, he was fearless, skilful, quick, aggressive, and he regarded a breach of the Wales try-line as an invasion of his personal property.

"Factor in the sideburns and the socks rolled down around the ankles, and you have a truly iconic figure."

Wales Online reveal that Rob Howley turned down domestic advances prior to signing his new deal with the WRU.

"Rob Howley has revealed he turned down club coaching offers to remain part of Warren Gatland’s Wales set-up.

Howley has followed Shaun Edwards’ lead in agreeing a new long-term contract with the Welsh RugbyUnion.

Forwards coach Robin McBryde will also carry on for another year, while kicking coach Neil Jenkins will be involved for another four years.

Howley has agreed a deal that will see him remain part of the national set-up until at least a full season after the next World Cup in 2015."

The international career of veteran Wlaes fly-half Stephen Jones appears to have been ended for him © Getty Images

The Western Mail's Simon Thomas believes veteran fly-half Stephen Jones deserved a fonder farewell after he was left out of the Wales squad to face Australia.

"For Shane Williams, the Millennium Stadium clash will serve as an emotional farewell, with the wing wizard making his 87th and final appearance for his country.

"The game is being unashamedly sold as Shane’s swansong – a chance to see the 34-year-old in international in action one more time before he walks off into the sunset.

"It’s just the kind of send-off the Great Entertainer deserves and a fitting finale to a record-breaking journey. Yet contrast that to the way in which Stephen Jones’ international career is coming to an end.

"There will be no guard of honour or emotional goodbyes for Wales’ most-capped player. That’s because he hasn’t been included in the 28-man squad for the December 3 clash with the Wallabies.

"Unlike Williams, Jones hasn’t given notice of his international retirement and presumably remains available to his country. So, in effect, he’s had his Test career ended for him."

The Western Mail's Andy Howell reports that Rob Howley is set to sign a new Wales deal while England assistant coach Graham Rowntree is also on their radar.

"The Western Mail understands an announcement on Howley, who has turned down the chance to join Bath to remain with [head coach Warren] Gatland and Wales, is due shortly.

"With kicking coach Neil Jenkins already on board as a member of the WRU staff, it just leaves the position of Gatland’s forwards coach Robin McBryde to resolve.

"McBryde’s contract runs out after the Six Nations and we understand the WRU are not planning to hold talks with him until the new year.

"Gatland is an admirer of the work McBryde does with the forwards, but intriguingly Wales are being linked in the London media with a move to lure highly-rated Rowntree across the Severn Bridge to bolster the WRU coaching set-up further."

The Western Mail's Simon Thomas reports on the Welsh Rugby Union's new deal with assistant coach Shaun Edwards.

"Lewis began initial talks with rugby league great Edwards over his future while Wales were out in New Zealand at the World Cup.

"Those discussions stepped up a gear on their return following the announcement that Edwards was parting company with Wasps.

"Lewis travelled north to Wigan to meet Edwards and his representatives a couple of weeks ago and, after holding talks with Gatland last week, he moved to seal the deal.

“It was more than apparent through the extraordinary coverage in the UK press that Shaun was in considerable demand from many quarters and there were many options open to him in this country and in Europe,” said Lewis."

Former Wales international turned rugby commentator Eddie Butler reveals his all-time greatest Wales XV in the Western Mail.

"Barry or Phil; Phil or Barry? It would be so easy to steer clear of the choice.

"Hell, Barry or Phil?

"Long ago, I wrote down my final, definitive, set-in-stone selection, and now I’m going to change my mind. The 10 shirt goes to Phil Bennett."

The Daily Telegraph's Steve James talks to Wales and Scarlets fly-half Rhys Priestland.

"For a long time the fly-half debate raged in Wales. The pragmatism of Stephen Jones or the flair of James Hook? Nobody could really decide. Nicky Robinson was in selectorial purdah over the border, and it was hoped the Ospreys’ Dan Biggar might provide the long-term solution.

"All the while, down at the Scarlets, due to the presence of Jones, a young chap called Rhys Priestland, a fly-half by inclination, was playing mainly at full-back. Playing pretty well, as it happened; so well that he was selected there for Wales's international against England at Twickenham in August.

"Six minutes before kick-off Jones pulled a calf muscle. “I was on the way in from the warm-up,” says Priestland, “and they say I could be playing at 10. The next thing I am playing at 10. It was a surreal few minutes.”

Wales lock Bradley Davies, talking to Gareth Griffiths of the Western Mail, talks of his hope that their strong performance in the World Cup is the start of a Welsh legacy.

"If revenge is a dish best served cold, then Welsh rugby has forgotten to knock the oven off.

Just 36 days after losing the bronze medal match to Australia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Warren Gatland’s men get an instant chance to take the Wallabies’ scalp at the Millennium Stadium. It’s the ideal feast for a rugby-hungry Welsh public desperate to salute their World Cup heroes.

But to Blues lock forward Bradley Davies the December 3 date in Cardiff is as much about the future as the past, no matter how well Wales played in finishing fourth in New Zealand.

“We worked extremely hard during the World Cup and were proud of what we achieved,” said Davies.

“Hopefully it was a stepping stone for future success."

Wales supporters will hope Warren Gatland remains at the helm © Getty Images

Warren Gatland, talking to Delme Parfitt of Western Mail, reflects on the World Cup and his future plans for Wales.

"If Warren Gatland had taken the chance to put a bit of pressure on Shaun Edwards to commit to another four years as Wales defence coach then, on the evidence of the World Cup, you could hardly have blamed him.

But the New Zealander’s working relationship with the former rugby league great runs much deeper than that.

Edwards has yet to make up his mind whether to help one of his closest confidantes in the game craft a Welsh side capable of ruling the world at the next global showpiece in 2015.

But, in an admission of jolting selflessness, Gatland says he would rather see Edwards work with England if it better suits his professional and personal circumstances."

Writing in The Guardian, Ian Malin argues that while 'Alfie' was the first Welshman to win 100 caps, he will remembered best for his announcement in 2009 that he is gay.

"In his final game for Wales, Gareth Thomas became their first rugby union international to reach 100 caps, an epic World Cup match against Fiji in Nantes during 2007. But it was his decision some two years later to announce to the world he is gay, so breaking a taboo in a macho sport, that brought him to the attention of the wider world.

"Thomas said back in 2009 that he did not want to be known as a gay rugby player. 'I am a rugby player and first and foremost I am a man,' he said. In the event that decision hardly caused a stir in South Wales, where his sexuality was an open secret, and the international referee Nigel Owens had also come out, but it was a pretty brave decision at the time and one of many incidents in one of Welsh rugby's most colourful life stories.

"Thomas on Tuesday made another announcement - that he is leaving rugby for good. It was less earth-shattering, given that he is now 37 years old and his rugby league club, the Crusaders, are no longer a Super League club. But he had been expected to join Wigan next season and, in the shorter term, play for Wales in theforthcoming Four Nations tournament, starting against England this weekend. Thomas, who has returned home after a stint as an ITV analyst during the rugby union World Cup, had met up with his new Wales team-mates and left them perplexed by telling them he will not be available for the tournament for "personal reasons."

Writing on Walesonline Gwyn Jones reveals what he has learned during the Rugby World Cup.

I have learned many things during the past few weeks. Most of them have come as a wonderful surprise while others have been difficult to accept.

I have learned the exact wording of Law 10.4 and its various sub-clauses concerning foul play.

I have learned a new term, the ‘tip tackle.’ And I have learned exactly how shattering it is to lose a World Cup semi-final against a team we are patently better than.

I have learned that Sam Warburton is a young man of immeasurable dignity, somehow able to conceal the inner purgatory he must have had as he watched his team from the sideline. I would have been in floods of tears; he remained stoic.

Wales legend Barry John picks out playmaker Rhys Priestland among the many highlights of Wales' so far successful World Cup campaign Walesonline

"And I can’t praise Rhys Priestland enough, He hit the post a couple of times, but these things happen and it was never going to affect the match.

"Priestland has come on in leaps and bounds and shown the justification of his selection ahead of Stephen Jones and James Hook.

"Jones will accept he is handing over the duties, while it is an extraordinary luxury to have Hook on the bench."

Centre Jamie Roberts revels in Wales' victory over Ireland but insists their attention is now focused on their semi-final with France Daily Mail.

"I can safely say that Saturday was one of the greatest days of my life. I know the rest of the team would agree and I don't mind admitting that I even shed a tear or two at the end.

"In rugby, you get to enjoy a few truly special moments and walking around the ground with the amazing Welsh fans cheering us is one that we will all remember. But once the cheering and singing had died down, we all understood that the job was only half done.

"We have achieved something special in qualifying for the semi-finals of the World Cup, something that Wales have done only once before. But that is not the end of it and we don't want to stop now. We are ambitious and we want to go all the way."

Wales have impressed hugely in the World Cup so far © Getty Images

All Blacks legend Colin Mead is backs Wales to beat Ireland and progress to their first ever World Cup final, in the New Zealand Herald.

"While we'll all be looking for an All Blacks win against Argentina, there are some interesting quarter-final games this weekend, particularly Wales versus Ireland.

"I was with my brother Stan yesterday and we have a jug of beer riding on the result: I think Wales will win, and he's backing Ireland.

"Wales are very interesting. They've been playing pretty good rugby and were unlucky against South Africa when they lost 17-16 in Wellington. They won the rest of their pool games and had a huge game against Samoa, which they came out of pretty well.

"If they can get through against Ireland, I think they can go right through to the final."

Delme Parfitt plots Wales' route to the final in Auckland in the Western Mail

"If we are to accept the consensus view, Ireland’s win against Australia means Wales have a realistic chance of going all the way to the World Cup final. But does it?

"It’s a school of thought that hinges on Warren Gatland’s men sealing second in Pool D and the Irish, having already dispatched the Wallabies, topping Pool C.
Wales would then face the Emerald Isle in the quarter-final, probably for the right to face the winners of England and France in the last four.

"Hardly a cakewalk, but these are teams that don’t have the kind of psychological grip on Wales that history tells us the Tri-Nations teams do.
In that case, so the optimists cry, let’s all prepare for Auckland on October 23 and Gatland’s dream final that sees Wales facing the All Blacks."

As his illustrious career enters it's final phase, Wales winger Shane Williams talks with the Daily Mail's Peter Jackson.

"You can't go on forever and I'm 34 now,' he said. 'As much as you want to go on, time does catch up with you.

"The youngsters are coming through and I am the oldest player in the squad, as they keep reminding me. You do feel it at times but, fortunately, I'm still keeping up with the young ones like George North - even if they're making me feel old.'

Writing in the Wales on Sunday, Barry John reflects on Wales' World Cup preparations.

"I’m sure that Wales can tinker with the scrum and iron out the problems but I think the line-out was the worst it has been in any of the three warm-up games. We just don’t seem to get the mechanics right between throwers and jumpers.

"And it said something that Argentina, who were playing their first game for around nine months, produced an efficient line-out performance and showed how effective they can be with the catch and drive when they scored their try at the end.

"Warren Gatland will name his 30-man squad tomorrow but I’m sure he won’t have too many headaches over the makeup of his World Cup party. The real headache for the head coach will be honing a game plan that Wales will be able to put into action. Wales need a solid set-piece otherwise they will be coming home before the postcards."

Wales centre Jamie Roberts is the latest subject of The Guardian's Small Talk Q&A.

"Which is more fun, playing international rugby or being a student? Both have their merits, especially when it comes to attracting women, which is the most important thing!

You mean you're the perfect combination of brain and brawn? [laughs]. Something like that!

So you've got a girlfriend then? No, no. I'm single at the moment.

But how can that be if you're the perfect man? Well I haven't met the perfect woman!

Back to university life, you must have some cracking tales of student nights out? I've got many good tales but none I can share with you! It wouldn't be responsible of me.

That's a shame ... Let's just say Freshers' Week was awesome.

Sam Warburton has declared he is ready to be Wales’ World Cup captain. The Western Mail's Gareth Griffiths reports.

"Warburton will sit out Saturday’s final warm-up match against Argentina on Saturday with Ryan Jones leading Wales for a record-equalling 28th time. But Warburton is the man Warren Gatland is expected to install as skipper when he names his 30-man World Cup party on Monday.

And he admits: “It is something I would not be able to turn down. To be honest, I feel it would be a massive surprise if I was named captain.

“I wondered if would be happen at all during my Test career, let alone now when I am only 22. I am not sure what is going to happen because Ryan is captain this weekend.

“He is an outstanding leader and has much more experience than me. So I am not sure what is going through the coaches’ minds and they have given me no indication yet. But, if it happened it would be a massive honour, and the biggest achievement of my rugby career so far.”

Legendary Wales fly-half Barry John gives his views on events at the Millennium Stadium in Wales on Sunday.

"England had absolutely no ideas and all the energy and spark they tried to show early on was totally eliminated. I thought it was quite an insult to the Welsh team that England chose not to take the easy penalties in the first half.

"They had Toby Flood putting them into strong positions in the corners and looking to use their advantage in the scrum and the line-out but they could not break down the amazing Welsh defence. And after absorbing all the pressure they made England pay."

Hugh Godwin runs the rule over Wales' win over England - where both sides were left coveting the other's strengths - in The Independent on Sunday.

"Friendly and phoney, or tellingly revelatory? Some old failings undermined England in the second of their three World Cup warm-ups and the most obvious straw to be clutched by those hoping they will achieve something in New Zealand next month is that to suffer in Cardiff is neither here nor, more importantly, there.

"Oddly, each side possessed what the other lacked. England, who will not play before naming their squad of 30 on 22 August, were solid in scrum and line-out, and they will proclaim that winning a World Cup is a tough task without those pillars. But Wales ruled the breakdown and they had an effective flanker in their captain, Sam Warburton, and the simple ability to finish a try when the chance presented itself to James Hook with 23 minutes left."

Richard Williams laments England's lack of cutting edge following their defeat to Wales in Cardiff in The Observer.

"With the roof closed to preview the conditions they will encounter against Argentina in Dunedin, playing around 75% of the match in their opponents' half for the best part of an hour, with the volume of God Save the Queen outdoing that of Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, and a chorus of Swing Low Sweet Chariot sweeping around the stadium from visiting fans who seemed to constitute a majority of the 73,307 in attendance, this felt unexpectedly like a home match for England.

"So much possession was granted to England by the superiority of their pack in the first half that Cardiff might as well have been Fortress Twickenham. For long – indeed, almost interminable – periods of the match, the men in white camped out on the Welsh line, trying desperately to take advantage of the decision not to take shots at goal from the avalanche of penalties awarded to them by the erratic referee, Alain Rolland."

Chirs Hewett ponders whether Wales head coach Warren Gatland will include the enigmatic Gavin Henson in his World Cup squad, in the Independent.

"Should Warren Gatland, the long-time All Black hooker who has been coaching Wales since shortly after the last World Cup in 2007, take a punt on the celebrity centre Gavin Henson, who has yet to reveal to everyone's satisfaction a rediscovered enthusiasm for top-level rugby to rival his passion for reality television? We will be given a clue today when Henson lines up alongside Jamie Roberts in the home midfield."

Andy Howell, writing for theWestern Mail has backed controversial Welsh back Gavin Henson to make their World Cup squad.

"There are plenty of shrewd judges out there who would have you believe that Gavin Henson might not be anywhere near New Zealand next month.

And, never one to want to spoil a story, the glamour boy of Welsh rugby played along with that view when he spoke to the media at the squad’s headquarters yesterday.

Henson suggested, not for the first time in recent months, that he might be in the last-chance saloon and just one match away from World Cup oblivion.

The 29-year-old claimed there were three centres ahead of him in Warren Gatland’s pecking order – Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies and young Scarlet Scott Williams.

That’s without mentioning a certain James Hook, who, like his former Ospreys pal, can play nearly anywhere in the backline."

The Western Mail's Delme Parfitt picks over Saturday's England versus Wales clash.

"Warren Gatland cut a quietly optimistic figure in the aftermath of Saturday’s encounter at Twickenham.

Like his players, he expressed his dissatisfaction with having lost the game, of course he did.

And the grim news of Morgan Stoddart’s broken leg did cast a pall over everything, with the Scarlets man’s hopes of going to New Zealand ended in the cruellest of fashions when he was tackled, innocuously, by Delon Armitage shortly after half time.

However, you could tell from Gatland’s demeanour that he had also seen enough to provide him with encouragement going into the remaining two summer warm-up games and the World Cup beyond.

After completing his formal press duties, he stopped to chat over a cup of coffee with journalists. There was none of the stony-faced coldness that has accompanied some of the Welsh post-mortems of the last 18 months."

Writing for Walesonline, Delme Parfitt argues that Wales will take many positives from their trip to Twickenham despite ultimate defeat.

"Everyone said winning was the key for Wales at Twickenham, but Welsh supporters will not have left the ground in despair by any means.

"Narrow defeats in south-east London for the men in red jerseys have been rare in the last two decades. Only once have Wales won there in that time and on most other occasions they’ve retreated in despair, sometimes disgrace.

"Not this time though. And while four wins in 17 games is hardly the kind of record you want with a World Cup around the corner, Wales, with a host of front-line players absent, produced enough to suggest they could pose a bigger threat than some cynics expect come the serious stuff in New Zealand."

Former England prop Jeff Probyn, talking to The Western Mail's Gareth Griffiths, believes Wales must win at England to lay their Six Nations ghosts to rest.

"Former England prop Jeff Probyn insists Warren Gatland’s Wales need a win at Twickenham on Saturday far more than England do.

In a hard-hitting appraisal of where both countries stand, Probyn warned Gatland’s men that the trouncing England suffered in Dublin at the hands of Ireland to deny them a Grand Slam on the final weekend of the Six Nations will have been just the wake-up call Martin Johnson’s men needed.

And the man who was once dubbed the best prop in the world, even though he didn’t play international rugby until he was 31, also dismissed claims Wales face a World Cup group of death in New Zealand.

Probyn’s assessment comes at a time when the ghosts of the August 2007 62-5 thrashing Wales took at Headquarters have predictably been on the loose once more."

Wales centre Jamie Roberts talks up the England versus Wales clash with Wales Online's Gareth Griffiths.

"Wales centre Jamie Roberts has insisted Saturday’s World Cup warm-up against England will match the intensity of a Six Nations showdown between the two bitter rivals.

Warren Gatland’s men start their three-match World Cup preparations at Twickenham this weekend the first game in a double-header against Martin Johnson’s men before Argentina’s visit to Cardiff.

The Welsh players know their World Cup selection fate depends on the next few weeks before the 30-man party is selected on August 22 with England the first test.

“Twickenham is sold out. It’s Wales v England. Boys are playing for World Cup places and the chance to realise their dreams,” explained Roberts."

Welsh great Phil Bennett, in his column for the Daily Mirror, calls on Warren Gatland to make two controversial selection choices ahead of their Test with England.

"There are two names that have to be on the Wales team sheet to face England next week – Toby Faletau and Gavin Henson.

Faletau is a young kid who represents the future for Wales and we need to know ­whether that future starts at September’s World Cup in New Zealand.

Henson represents the past, but he’s never been adequately replaced and we have to learn whether or not he’s a past that can be recreated.

For my money, I think he can. He’s still only 29 and there isn’t that much mileage on the clock for a guy who was first capped 10 years ago."

The Western Mail reports that Gavin Henson is impressing the Welsh selectors as he bids to be included in their World Cup squad.

"Gavin Henson has shocked Warren Gatland and the Wales coaching staff with his fitness levels and has edged closer to a place in the final World Cup squad, the Western Mail understands.

Henson returned from Wales’ 10-day training camp in Poland with his reputation enhanced, after successfully negotiating every test put in front of him by Gatland and his backroom team.

The glamour star of the Welsh game next faces what, in effect, amounts to a three-match trial to prove he is ready for a place on the plane to New Zealand and the opening match against holders South Africa."

WRU boss Roger Lewis tells David Williams of the Western Mail that he believes the Welsh team will be in peak condition come the World Cup

"WRU boss Roger Lewis has declared Warren Gatland will have the best prepared Wales team in World Cup history this autumn.

The WRU group chief executive made his bold statement as Matthew Rees and his colleagues fly home from their second intensive training camp in Poland.

Lewis believes Gatland’s men will come through their tough pool in New Zealand – despite many pundits predicting an early exit which would mirror the failure to reach the quarter-finals under Gareth Jenkins in 2007.

But Lewis indicated the build-up and preparation between the two regimes was like chalk and cheese."

Richard Parks, talking to Matt Lloyd of The Independent, speaks of his epic 737 challenge.

"It was in rugby that Richard Parks made his name but after almost losing part of his foot to severe frostbite, surviving a brush with death in a crevasse and dodging collapsing ice shelves, avalanches and even malaria, it will be as Britain's fastest adventurer that history will now remember him.

On the pitch, the former Wales international was a robust and athletic loose forward unfortunate to play at the same time as Martyn Williams, otherwise more representative honours would surely have come.

However, no one can put him in the shade on the world's highest peaks and polar caps, where this remarkable record-breaker stands peerless after achieving mountaineering's "Grand Slam" in record time"

Andy Howell, of the Western Mail , believes Gavin Henson will be included in Wales' second boot camp in Poland.

"Warren Gatland is ready to hand a huge World Cup boost to Gavin Henson and Welsh back-row youngsters Toby Faletau and Josh Turnbull.

"The trio are set to get Gatland’s nod for the second pre-World Cup training trip to Poland which starts in Spala on Monday, after impressing during the first visit.

"But their good news could be countered by bad news for a crop of other players who look in danger of missing the cut.

"Senior back-row men Andy Powell and Jonathan Thomas are amongst those Gatland seems likely to leave behind, with young guns Faletau and Turnbull being given the chance to impress the coach instead."

Scarlets supremo Nigel Davies is exuding a quiet confidence ahead of the new season according to the Western Mail's Simon Roberts.

"While the loss of New Zealander Regan King to French giants Clermont Auvergne in the summer would have once been viewed as a disaster, it is now being seen as sign at the development down West.

Scarlets Jonathan Davies, George North, Morgan Stoddart, Tavis Knoyle, Rhys Priestland, Rob McCusker, Josh Turnbull and Scott Williams are now all Welsh internationals.

Davies clearly sees it that way and admits he is in no rush to splash the cash in an increasingly spiralling market caused by the cash-rich clubs in France.

“If somebody gave me a £1m to spend on players right now, I would be very careful on how I spent it,” said Davies. “I probably wouldn’t want to spend it this season and just throw it away on anyone out there. I certainly wouldn’t spend it on someone who is way past his best. We have to sign the right type of player, person and character."

Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips is hoping to put a troubling few months behind him, WalesOnline reports.

"Phillips will join French side Bayonne next season, and the feisty 28-year-old admits he will be relieved to escape the goldfish bowl of Welsh rugby.

"The Lions star only returned to the Welsh squad last week after issuing a public apology following an altercation in Cardiff city centre.

"Phillips was suspended for 10 days after photographs emerged of him being pinned to the ground by a McDonalds bouncer in the early hours of the morning.

"He insists the whole saga was "blown out of proportion" and says he found himself "in the wrong place at the wrong time".

Wales prop Paul James is ready to make up for lost time and make a World Cup impact - eight years after his first taste of the tournament.The Wales on Sunday's Simon Roberts reports.

"The Ospreys prop may not be viewed as a headline act but his importance to Warren Gatland’s side cannot be overstated.

"The 29-year-old, who has won 23 caps, enhanced his growing reputation as Gethin Jenkins missed the whole Six Nations and Adam Jones only returned for the final Test in France.

"Jenkins is still on the comeback trail from a toe injury and Jones hasn’t rediscovered the form which made him one of the most feared scrummagers in world rugby.

"But James has shown he can pack down on either side of the scrum and play a far bigger part than when he was flown out as a 20-year-old rookie to replace the injured Duncan Jones at the 2003 World Cup in Australia.

“I had a little taste of it then when I was called up for that tournament but I didn’t actually play,” recalled James."

Wales coach Warren Gatland has told his World Cup hopefuls they have a “moral responsibility” to the Welsh shirt in the wake of the Mike Phillips affair. The Western Mail's Jon Doel reports.

“It won’t affect Mike’s selection chances for the World Cup,” he said.

“But it’s about the public humiliation of being out at that time in the morning and we have taken some action.

“Legally he has done nothing wrong, but morally, once you put that jersey on, you have a social responsibility to that jersey. We have made the players very much aware of that.

“Maybe 10 years ago you might have got away with such things, but with Facebook and Twitter and camera phones, you can’t do anything these days.

“I think the players are more aware now just how careful they have to be, particularly when they’re going out.”

Mike Phillips will meet with members of the Wales management team and senior players on Tuesday, in an attempt to keep alive his hopes of playing in the World Cup. John Richards reports for the Independent on Sunday.

"The Independent on Sunday understands that the 52-times capped half-back, who toured South Africa with the Lions in 2009, will be told that unless his behaviour improves he will put in jeopardy his chance of playing in the World Cup, in New Zealand in September. It is also understood that after Phillips' suspension, the Welsh World Cup training squad were addressed by the management and reminded of their responsibilities on and off the field.

"...Phillips, who was one of six players warned about his conduct in 2009, after a night out in Cardiff, has been replaced in the squad by the uncapped Cardiff Blues scrum-half Lloyd Williams. However, although a final warning will be dished out by the national coach, Warren Gatland, this week, Phillips could be invited back into the squad as early as next week, providing he shows a significant level of remorse. Such a decision would allow the former Llanelli, Blues and Ospreys' half-back to take his place in the squad for a trip to Poland, on 30 June, for the first of two World Cup training camps."

On Wales Online, the case of Toby Faletau is being cited in an eligibility row between Ireland and Wales over U20 stars.

"Toby Faletau is unwittingly at the centre of an eligibility row between Wales and Ireland.

The Wales No 8, who made his debut against the Barbarians a fortnight ago, finds himself embroiled in an eligibility dispute which the International Rugby Board has been asked to rule on.

Two of Faletau’s Wales Under-20s team-mates, Matthew Jarvis and James Loxton are dual-qualified for Wales and Ireland.

Former Ospreys back Jarvis and Blues rookie Loxton agreed contracts with Irish province, Connacht, earlier this year only on the understanding they were eligible to play for Ireland."

Speaking to Wales Online, Joe Lydon gives a damming verdict on the regional set-up in Wales following the U20's hammering by the Baby Blacks.

"WALES' rugby development chief Joe Lydon has blamed the lack of regional rugby being played by Welsh youngsters for the humiliating 92-0 defeat suffered by Wales under 20s against New Zealand under 20s last night.

The WRU has already begun the inquest into the worst result of any Welsh side in history as Richard Webster's team were left battered and embarrassed at the Junior World Championship.

Lydon, who has been head of rugby performance and development since November 2008, insisted the calibre and intensity of rugby being played by the Baby Blacks on a regular basis was a key factor in the gulf between the sides.

And he claimed the Welsh regions were still not giving enough young Welsh players the chance to prove themselves, citing the number of foreign players at regional level as an ongoing issue.'"

Hugh Godwin reflects on Wales' loss to the Barbarians in The Independent on Sunday.

"A bits-and-pieces fixture that did not even come close to meriting the full-cap status accorded it, nonsensically, by the Welsh Rugby Union was saved from petering into nothingness by the gloriously gifted Barbarian captain, Sergio Parisse, and a cameo show by the gargantuanToulon centre Willie Mason.

"Having beaten even more of a shadow England side 38-32 the previous Sunday, the Baa-Baas prepared in time-honoured fashion: the bare minimum in tactical run-arounds and plenty of rounds at the bar. "I'll need a toxicology report on Monday to make sure I'm OK," joked their assistant coach, Scott Johnson – in his day job with the Ospreys the Australian has relations with his Wales counterpart, Warren Gatland, that are nothing like as jovial."

Paul Ackford runs the rule over Gavin Henson's return to the Wales team in The Daily Telegraph.

"He didn’t do enough for me, but that’s not to say that he won’t get his chance. You see, the problem with Henson, the allegation that has followed him throughout his time with Wales, the Lions, Ospreys, Saracens and Toulon, is that for all his undoubted talent, the lad doesn’t appear to give a damn.

"His performance against the Barbarians simply added to the mystery. Henson divides opinion everywhere but especially in Wales. In a half-empty Millennium stadium, the announcement of his name was greeted with a mixture of jeers and cheers. There’s no doubt he’s box office."

Stephen Jones takes charge at training © Getty Images

The Western Mail's David Williams meets Wales fly-half Stephen Jones on the eve of his 100th cap for his country.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same.

"A well-known saying but one that sums up Stephen Jones’ Wales career in a nutshell.
Over the last 13 years, outside-halves have come and gone in the red of Wales – but Jones has always been there.

"From making his debut during the Loftus Versfeld nightmare of 1998, through two Grand Slam triumphs and World Cup heartache, Jones has been a constant in Welsh rugby’s ups and downs of the last decade and more.

"Today, the Scarlets star makes his 100th appearance for Wales against the Barbarians in Cardiff, drawing level with fellow centurion Gareth Thomas as his country’s most capped international."

Writing in the Daily Mail, Chris Foy looks forward to a mouth-watering clash between Welsh master Martin Williams and young heir to his throne Sam Warbuton as the Barbarians face Wales in Cardiff.

"Sam Warburton will renew a familiar rivalry at the Millennium Stadium, while finding himself in the unfamiliar position as the youngest captain of Wales for some 43 years.

"The 22-year-old Cardiff Blues flanker will be the youngest skipper since Gareth Edwards in 1968 when he leads his country out against the Barbarians for a match granted full cap status.Edwards was 20 in 1968.

"Warburton will be busy trying to contain regional team-mate Martyn Williams. More experienced players make the Wales side, including former skippers, so the openside was taken aback to be given the job."

Welsh rugby legend Jonathan Davies analyses Welsh rugby's failings this season with the Western Mail's Simon Thomas.

Reflecting on this failure, TV pundit Jonathan Davies believes it’s all about the inability to make the big decisions on the big stage.

“It has been a disappointing season,” said the former Neath, Llanelli and Cardiff star. “Everybody involved in Welsh rugby is disappointed. On the regional side, we’ve under-performed for the majority of the season. But it was the key games that really let us down.

“In Europe, the Blues lost to Northampton twice, which was where they blew up. As for the Ospreys, Toulon away was a game they should have won. That was down to poor game management, while they over-emphasised the scrum against Munster when they should have scored more points; and then they go to London Irish and lose.

“The Scarlets started well, but didn’t have enough forward power at the time, while the Dragons were never really in contention. So that was the Heineken Cup over with.”

As European club competition comes to a thrilling climax, Simon Thomas laments a poor season for Welsh rugby on www.walesonline.co.uk

"The fact that the season is already over for Welsh rugby speaks volumes for what kind of campaign it’s been.

This should be the time of year when excitement rises over at least one of our sides appearing in a showpiece final. But come the business end of the season, our business is already done.

All we are able to provide are the venues, with this weekend’s two European finals both being held in Cardiff."

Writing in the Western Mail Andy Howell greets Paul Tito's declaration that he would be interested in playing for Wales with bemusement and derision.

"Kiwi Paul Tito’s admission he would join Wales’ bid for World Cup glory is startling in its own right. But it also highlights why the International Rugby Board must act to prevent Test rugby turning into an even bigger farce than it already is.

"The Blues captain is a top bloke but to hear him confide he would say “yes” to an SOS call if Warren Gatland came knocking at the door is chilling."

Shane Williams insists people have a misconception about his returning Wales team-mate Gavin Henson. The Western Mail's Simon Thomas reports.

"There seems to be a misconception among some people that he is full of himself and big-headed. Not true.

“He is quiet, most of the attention he gets is unwarranted and he prefers to keep himself to himself. After the part he played in our Grand Slam in 2005, the media interest went through the roof, fuelled by the fact his partner was Charlotte Church.

“The slightest change in his hairdo seemed to spark a feeding frenzy of press attention. Gav does pride himself on his appearance though.

“When he first came along, his fake tan, expensive hairdos and moisturisers caused a bit of a stir because we all felt they were the sorts of things women rather than men went in for. Now to some extent, we’re all at it!

“The majority of the Ospreys lads shave their legs these days, they really do, and Mike Phillips, Lee Byrne and James Hook aren’t averse to the odd session on a sun-bed. Whatever, any criticism is water off a duck’s back to Gav."

Gavin Henson during his false-start at Saracens © Getty Images

James Lawton compares the ailing career of Gavin Henson to one of the great hellraisers, and achievers, Ian Botham, in The Independent.

"It is way too late for Gazza, probably for Gavin Henson and possibly even Danny Cipriani, who is a mere 23 years old.

"However, for most anyone else involved in the celebrity-style risking of exceptional talent there is something they might do which could prove extremely helpful.

"They could get hold of a new book that quite harrowingly at times explores the extraordinary achievements of arguably one of the three or four most charismatic figures ever to explode across the face of British sport."

Writing in the Daily Telegraph Brian Moore says that Gavin Henson and Andy Powell must shoulder much of the blame for their recent off-field incidents.

"I was also aware that a few years earlier I had got into serious trouble in a Nottingham pub when, after the third time a drunk had had a go at me, I, wrongly, punched him and ended up with a conviction for assault. I know how trouble, that you do not start, can happen; I also know the starkly different outcomes that flow from how it is handled.

It may sound hypocritical in the light of this and against the old-school background of rugby drinking to address any words to Messrs Henson and Powell, now called by the Welsh Rugby Union to account for their latest misdemeanours. It is not, because there are important distinctions.

Standards are different today, but then so are the rewards. When you are paid approximately half the national average annual wage for one international, we can demand different standards and if players don’t like it, they don’t have to play."

Andrew Hore talks about his new role as chief operating office at the Ospreys with to the Western Mail's Andy Howell.

"Kiwi Hore – who joined the Ospreys in February 2008 from the New Zealand RFU, where he had been high performance manager – said: “It’s an exciting opportunity for me that I can’t wait to get started.

“When the board approached me with a view to taking on responsibility for day-to-day operations at the Ospreys, I certainly didn’t need to think twice about it.

“There’s still a lot of work to do on the rugby side, but it is pleasing to see how some of the development structures we’ve been able to implement are really beginning to have a positive effect.”

Eddie Butler offers his view on rugby's recent issues and the respective plights of Gavin Henson, Andy Powell and Ben Foden in The Guardian.

"Rugby is, it seems, bingeing its way into the headlines, and not just through the well-oiled conduit of booze. We have had a politico-poetic bust-up between Wales's defence coach, Shaun Edwards, and their sports scientist, Fergus Connolly, over an Irish folk song sung in Paris. We have had Delon Armitage rough-handling a doping officer after a London Irish game. Music and drugs; rugby is rock and roll.

"The demon drink though is the regular purveyor of scandal: Ben Foden, England's baby-faced full back, in an altercation in a London cab; Bradley Davies, second-row for the Cardiff Blues and Wales, arrested after a much bigger ruck at the Deck pub in Saundersfoot. Others are not so new to the paparazzi. Danny Cipriani, who left England to start afresh with the Melbourne Rebels in the Super 15, was "reminded of his responsibilities" after being banned from the Boutique nightclub in the Prahran area of the city."

James Hook's young son will lead the Ospreys out in probably his last game at the Liberty Stadium in what promises to be an emotional farewell in a must-win game against Munster this evening. The Western Mail reports.

"The Ospreys, the reigning Magners League champions, know they have to beat the league leaders, Munster, if they are to stand any chance of reaching this season’s semi-final play-offs.

"The 25-year-old, who has won 52 Wales caps, admits running out in Swansea for a probable final time promises to be an emotional occasion. “It’s been building up,” said Hook. “My son Harrison will be on the pitch as a mascot leading the team out so that will be emotional as well. But hopefully in a couple of years I can come back. My family will be emotional but it is something I’m excited about as well.

“It means an awful lot playing in the region to have played for the Ospreys for all these years. I’m going to France for a couple of years and who knows what will happen after that. I wouldn’t mind coming back at some point in the future. It will be an emotional time but I’ll just see how it goes. I want to go out on a high note."

Wales and Blues centre Tom Shanklin has seen his career ended by injury © Getty Images

"At the end of a week that has seen Gavin Henson fall from grace once again, there is a sense of heightened frustration at the forced retirement of Tom Shanklin.

"Assess the career of the Blues man and what do you find?

"A guy who made the most of a more limited stock of talent than his Grand Slam centre partner, who knuckled down to become Mr Reliable despite some dreadful luck with injuries, and who was only ever in the limelight for what he did on the pitch.

"Shanklin may have been renowned for being the joker of most teams he played for, the fellow who took charge of the music on the team bus, who made sure everyone was entertained during more tedious moments of the trips and tours that are part and parcel of the game.

"But for all his reputation as a bit of a mischief-maker, I don’t recall the 31-year-old ever becoming embroiled in the sort of tawdry headlines that have besmirched Welsh rugby’s reputation in the past few months.

"No. Shanklin was one of the good guys. Still is."

Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips is reportedly on the verge of a move to French giants Toulouse © Getty Images

The Western Mail's Delme Parfitt reflects on the imminent departure from the Ospreys of scrum-half Mike Phillips.

"He believes in his own mind he is the best, whether others share that opinion or not. He doesn’t do modesty. Period.

"And you may conclude that such self-confidence is a refreshing change, that a bit more of the same outlook might see the Ospreys and Wales start getting across the line more often when it really matters, instead of producing so many hard luck stories.

"...Though he may refuse to accept it himself, Phillips hasn’t really been on the money in the way we know he is capable since he came back from Lions duty, yet he’s held on to his Wales place for differing reasons throughout that period.

"Firstly, there have been times when his form, though not his best, has still been good enough.

"Secondly, he has an ally in Warren Gatland, whose innate conservatism has seen him willing to stick with players who have done a job for him in the past when coaches with a shorter fuse would have changed personnel."

The Western Mail's Delme Parfitt believes James Hook’s move to France signals the end of ‘Gatland’s Law’ that favoured players based in Wales.

"The implication is that Gatland’s Law now only applies to those players who are deemed indispensable, in other words enforcing it is down to a subjective standpoint rather than the application of a specific rule.

"Dangerous territory surely, and, while we have waited for something concrete, assumption has ruled.

"Gatland’ s Law has simply been overtaken by events, the most significant of which was the decision of James Hook to join Perpignan in time for the start of next season.

"Once our most talented player decided to up sticks, sticking up two fingers to the ideal scenario of all our top stars staying in Wales, Gatland’s Law was dead in all but name.

"Hook wasn’t the first to decide the grass was greener on the other side of the fence, but still his departure could set a precedent."

Robert Jones has aimed a no-holds barred broadside at Wales and urged Warren Gatland to come up with new tactics or risk World Cup humiliation. The Western Mail's Andy Howell reports.

"But Jones warned that unless Gatland bins the structured approach he insists upon adopting, Wales will continue to under-achieve after their bleak fourth place finish in the Six Nations.

“Looking ahead to the World Cup, I’m not optimistic. Getting to the semis is the target, but getting through our group will be a major hurdle,” said a concerned Jones.

"The man who was a Test winner with the Lions in Australia in 1989 was hugely critical of Wales’ Six Nations campaign.

“Before the Six Nations, we would probably have been happy with three wins out of five, but it’s not just about the results,” said Jones. “It’s about performance and we never got going. We only played well in patches and the worst game of the lot was against France, when we hardly looked like creating anything."

Shaun Edwards, the Wales defence coach, on Sunday denied butting colleague Fergus Connolly in the aftermath of Wales’s Six Nations Championship victory over Ireland earlier this month. The Daily Telegraph's Graham Clutton reports.

"Edwards, who combines his Welsh role with his job as head coach to Wasps, confirmed the incident was sparked over a well-known Irish folk song sung on the Wales team bus on the way back from the after-match dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Cardiff.

"It has been alleged that Edwards replaced the words “I’ve been a wild rover for many a year” with the phrase “I’ve been a wife beater for many a year”. Connolly is understood to have remonstrated with Edwards over his rendition.

"In the article Edwards was quoted as saying: “Fergus got the wrong end of the stick with a song which was a bit of fun with the lads. He approached me afterwards clearly annoyed and there was an altercation; our heads may have touched because we were standing so close to each other, but I definitely did not headbutt him."

In the Wales on Sunday, Gloucester fly-half Nicky Robinson tells Phil Blanche that he has not given up hope of breaking back into the Wales set-up in time for the World Cup in September.

“I haven’t had any contact with the Wales management, but I’ve seen them select Andy Powell and Dwayne Peel in the Six Nations," says Robinson. “I’m sure that if they want to pick other players from outside Wales, they will.

“Personally, I hope there is an involvement for me in the future, preferably this year. I will never give up on that. I will keep training and playing hard and pushing myself to be an international player."

Wales assistant coach Shaun Edwards is set to remain in his post for the World Cup © Getty Images

Writing in The Guardian, Wales assistant coach Shaun Edwards reflects on a week he would rather forget.

"After a meeting in London and a few handshakes, I am still the Wales defence coach and the matter of the scuffle following the Ireland game can, I hope, be laid to rest.

"These things happen in rugby. Josh Lewsey and Danny Cipriani come to mind and stories of Leicester players knocking lumps off each other are legion. However, I admit this one was different because it was two coaches going at each other.

"As someone said at the time, an Englishman and an Irishman having a go at each other during the celebration of a Welsh victory sounds like the start of a bad joke. In fact it was a lot more serious than that. But if there is a good side to this unhappy story it is that it has helped me to focus on what I'm doing while illustrating just how much I enjoy doing it.

"As someone else said at another post-Six Nations session this week, coaching Test teams "is addictive" and, as with the England team manager Martin Johnson, it is something I'd like to do for a lot longer. Working with the best players a country has to offer – and particularly a country like Wales – is not just an honour, but I hope brings out the best in me."

Peter Bills gives his two cents on the recent refereeing farce that unfolded at the Millennium Stadium in The Independent.

"Two men made serious blunders at Cardiff last Saturday that directly influenced the outcome of the Wales v Ireland match. But neither of them was the referee.

"One was Irish fly half Jonathan Sexton, an undistinguished second half substitute, and the other was Scottish assistant referee Peter Allen. Between them, they brought chaos to an international match.

"Sexton erred by kicking the ball out on the full after 49 minutes. Then Allen made the crass error of losing concentration, failing to follow the flight of the ball so that he would have seen the same ball was clearly not used for the quick throw-in for Mike Phillips’ try that proved the crucial difference in the match."

Louis Deacon is shown yellow in England's Six Nations opener © Getty Images

Shaun Edwards ponders the current mechanisms of the sin-bin and suggests an alternative in The Guardian.

"Yellow cards and sin-bins. Now these are subjects I really understand. When it comes to scrums and lineouts I take advice from those who know and who, hopefully, prevent me from putting my size eights where they don't belong. But first as a player and then as a coach I've come to understand what 10 minutes in the bin really means.

"As a player it always hurt – I was in the bin at Wigan so often that it was suggested a blue plaque be put on my seat – but as a coach I often have mixed feelings as I watch players trooping off. There can be pluses as well as minuses, and this is what needs addressing.

"First I have to say this has nothing to do with the referee Greg Garner and the yellow cards he showed to three Wasps players, Marty Veale, Tim Payne and John Hart, when we went down to Saracens at Adams Park last Sunday. These are thoughts that have been forming for a while but have come to the forefront of my mind during the past couple of Test series – the autumn and the Six Nations. Basically, I wonder whether we're being cute enough in how we operate the sin-bin and, increasingly, whether the punishment continues to fit the crime."

Veteran flanker Martyn Williams could become the latest Wales star to play his rugby outside the country with Wasps leading the chase to secure his signature. The Western Mail's Simon Thomas reports.

"Speaking for the first time since being dropped from the Six Nations squad by Warren Gatland and reports that he was to be axed by the Blues, Williams was adamant that his future remains bright.

“It’s nowhere near as grim as people have been making out,” said the 35-year-old. “It’s not as if I’m going to be on the dole in June and scraping around with nothing to do!

“People on the outside have been making more of it than I have. It’s not a case of Armageddon and having to sell up and live in a cardboard box somewhere!

“It has been different, but I’ve been through proper tough times before in my life. This isn’t like that. I am excited about my future, whatever happens. I am fortunate I have got options.

“I have been with Castle Court Consulting for the last three years and the support I have had from them has been outstanding. And, on the rugby front, there are a number of offers on the table."

Martyn Williams might be 35 but he showed why he should still be in the Wales squad, his skill and vision proving fundamental as the Blues leapt from fourth to second in the Magners League. The Wales on Sunday reports.

"The veteran flanker produced the most subtle of passes to create the only try in front of a decent crowd of 10,741 at Cardiff City Stadium last night.

"Ninety-eight times capped Wales international Williams was controversially left out of Wales’ Six Nations squad by coach Warren Gatland.

"But his creative ability off the replacements’ bench would have been ideal when it came to providing a link between forwards and backs, especially if Wales were chasing a match.

"Blues coach David Young was quick to hail the latest performance of Williams, saying: “I thought he was excellent. He was the real stand-out player that was going to cut them apart because Leinster’s defence was physical and tight.”

"Asked if he was surprised Williams had been ditched by Wales, Young diplomatically replied: “We all were.”

Is Welsh rugby heading for a huge player exodus? And, if so, where does that leave Gatland’s 'law' that demands the best Welsh players are playing in the country? The Western Mail's Andy Howell reports.

"Wales coach Warren Gatland had seen a trickle of departures and believed action was needed to stem the tide by warning them that they risked jeopardising their international careers if they moved outside our border.

"But the pronouncement now looks like hot air as Welsh players in the prime of their rugby lives, or on the way up, either turn their backs on the Welsh regions or consider pocketing the huge and potentially life-changing buckets of cash on offer in France.

"At one stage England was the favoured destination for French stars.

"But the exchange rate between the United Kingdom and France means the boot is now on the other foot. The French are staying at home and their country has become a haven for British stars, Welsh ones included."

Wales try king Shane Williams has revealed his future at the Ospreys is clouded in uncertainty. The Western Mail's Andy Howell reports.

"The shock news will stun supporters of Wales’ flagship region and prompt interest from the biggest clubs in European rugby. Williams’ contract at the Liberty Stadium runs out at the end of the season and he insisted there’s nothing firm on the table from Ospreys’ power-brokers.

“I have been talking to the Ospreys and I want to stay, but I don’t have a concrete offer from them at present,” explained the 33-year-old.

"Williams raised his record Wales try tally to a staggering 53 with the double strike which helped clinch a pressure-relieving 24-6 Six Nations victory over Scotland at Murrayfield last weekend. Those touchdowns took his European Championship total to 22, just one behind Ireland great Brian O’Driscoll and two down on record-holder Ian Smith, the Flying Scotsman who crossed 24 times in the 1920s and 1930s."

In the Sunday Telegraph, former Wales winger Ieuan Evans insists Warren Gatland's job was never in danger.

"First of all let’s just say that regardless of the outcome of this game, Warren Gatland would not have lost his job. I don’t know that for a fact, but believe me, it would have been a crass decision to have ditched the coach in World Cup year. Wales have done it before and I was involved in it before. It is stupid to even talk like that.

"So, a win and thank goodness for that. Like every other Welsh man and woman, I was beginning to wonder where it was coming from. There are only so many times you can say, well, that was close.

"I was getting a bit fed up with listening to the same old platitudes. Thankfully, no more."

Mick Cleary believes that the national side must lift Welsh rugby in the wake of the regions' Heineken Cup capitulation in The Daily Telegraph.

"While much is rightly made of the struggles of the English clubs in going head to head with the cash-rich French and their relative demise as a result, the long-running underachievement of the Welsh teams is even worse.

"No Welsh side have won the Heineken Cup since its inception in 1995. For the third time in seven seasons, the regions have been wiped out in the pool stages. That’s a pitiful return by any standards.

"After bitter infighting, regional rugby was introduced in 2003. The classic town base of Welsh rugby was dismantled or redefined. Cardiff became the Blues, Newport, the Gwent Dragons."

Martyn Williams dream of winning 100 Wales caps could be over after the Lions flanker was the shock omission from Warren Gatland’s Six Nations squad. The Western Mail's Gareth Griffiths reflects on the shock news.

"The 35-year-old, currently stranded on 98 Wales Test caps, was sensationally dropped last night from the 28-man party named by the Gatland.

"The Kiwi coach named uncapped back-row duo Josh Turnbull and Toby Faletau with Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton, Jonathan Thomas, Andy Powell and Ryan Jones completing his back-row options.

"Scarlets flanker Turnbull and Dragons No 8 Faletau are among five uncapped players alongside Scarlets outside-half Rhys Priestland, Blues tighthead Scott Andrews and Ospreys prop Ryan Bevington. It is another bitter blow for Williams who last week learned he is set to be released by the Blues at the end of the season.

"Gatland persuaded Williams out of international retirement when he took over after the 2007 World Cup, citing lack of alternative openside options. But the emergence of Warburton and now Turnbull has started the changing of the guard, with Gatland opting for youth over experience for this tournament."

Wales fullback Lee Byrne trudges from the field after being sin-binned against Ireland © Getty Images

Wales and Wasps coach Shaun Edwards tells Hugh Godwin in the Independent on Sunday that Wales must master the mind games if they are to have a successful Six Nations campaign.

"The serious subject at hand is growing evidence that Welsh players lack that bottle. Slip-ups in tight spots have been costly. A knock-on at a scrum and a lost line-out against South Africa in 2008; throwing away a lead against the same opponents last June; in the 2010 Six Nations' Championship, Alun-Wyn Jones's yellow-card trip against England, Lee Byrne's daft sin-bin in Ireland, and two missed kicks to touch during a fightback against France; a few months later, Byrne's penalty touch-finder off target versus New Zealand, and Ryan Jones conceding a penalty to hand Fiji a draw.

"'It's impossible to replicate those specific, big moments in training,' says Edwards. 'Obviously the more you practise the skill, the better. But experience counts – particularly if not all those experiences have been bad. If they're all mistakes, it will get in your head a bit.

"'It's not just line-outs. It's missing that last-ditch tackle, or giving away a crucial penalty. And they could come at any time. I was proud of Wales's defence in the 2008 Grand Slam but the goal-kicking was 100 per cent going into the final match – a huge part of us winning it. Rugby is a game of momentum. The momentum-shifting incident could be at any time.'"

The Cardiff Blues' push to qualify for the quarter finals of the Heineken Cup was ended prematurely © Getty Images

Cardiff Blues coach Dai Young tells Simon Thomas of the Western Mail that Europe is no level playing field.

"This is not an excuse, this is a fact,” Young said. “When you look at the teams that are more likely to go through in the Heineken Cup, none of the four Welsh regions get anywhere near their budgets. We are not competing on a level playing field and we are operating with half of their budget.

“How can we compete with the budgets of Toulon and Toulouse? We are just lucky to be on the same field as them.“We have not got the restrictions they have got,” he said. “How many Frenchman are playing for Toulouse at the moment?

“The charter and the participation agreement and the restrictions on foreign players at the regions are done for the good of Welsh rugby. We are broadening the player base in Wales with only having six overseas players. Nobody is suggesting we should have more than six and I think it is the best for Wales."

Wales and Wasps coach Shaun Edwards offers some colourful observations in an interview with The Independent © Getty Images

Wales and Wasps coach Shaun Edwards is the one facing the questions in The Independent.

"This appetite for learning was not quite so prodigious at St John Fisher high school, Wigan, not that it mattered much in a boy who captained English schools in both codes of rugby, and broke all schoolboy records by signing for Wigan on his 17th birthday for £35,000. "History was the only subject I took much notice of at school," he recalls, "and funnily enough it's my son's best subject too."

"His son James, by the M People singer Heather Small, is on a rugby scholarship at Harrow. I confess to being slightly startled when he tells me this; the tough-as-nails Wiganer, so in touch with his working-class roots that during the 1984 miners' strike he taped over the British Coal logo on his shirt, with a son at the school of Lord Byron and, for that matter, Margaret Thatcher's son Mark. Yet the incongruity of it gives Edwards nothing but pleasure. "My father and mother came down to watch James play, and as my father said, the facilities there are like heaven for a young man, heaven on earth."

"Indeed, and yet his own stellar playing career was forged in the narrow terraced streets of Wigan. Does he worry that, however heavenly the facilities at Harrow, James might be missing something less tangible but more valuable in his sporting education? "Well, I had it tougher in some ways but it's a daunting thing leaving home at 13, you know. In fact, I remember Fraser Waters telling me he left home at eight. So they have it tougher in different ways. When I moved out of my mum's house, I moved about 60 yards down the street." How old was he? "Twenty-two," he says, with a bellow of laughter."

An injury to Ospreys prop Adam Jones has dented Wales' Six Nations preparations © Getty Images

The Western Mail's Gwyn Jones reflects on a bad start to the year for Wales.

"According to numerous psychological studies, the middle two weeks of January is known to be the most depressing time of the year. They got that right.

"The injury to Adam Jones put the tin hat on what was a thoroughly miserable weekend of rugby. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Wales lose an irreplaceable player on the doorstep of the Six Nations.

"But round five of the Heineken Cup brought into focus the dismal reality of the current standard of the regional game in Wales. Far from winning a group, any Welsh region would welcome finishing second in a pool rather than languishing in the bottom half of the standings.

"Some would argue the outrage at the hopeless situation of the regions is an over-reaction – hey, Wales still has the Magners League champions and Amlin Challenge Cup holders. In my view, it isn’t over the top in any way whatsoever. The regions need a collective rocket to get their houses in order."

Bobby Windsor (centre) pictured poses with Pontypool and Lions team-mates Graham Price and Charlie Faulkner © Getty Images

Bobby Windsor's enthralling biography shows the Wales legend still packs a powerful punch according to the Daily Telegraph's Steve James.

"It is a colourful tale about a colourful man, a former steelworker and general rapscallion who became a ruthless and athletic hooker of worldwide repute, playing a crucial part in the “invincible” British and Irish Lions team who battered the bully-boy South Africans in 1974. It is a story of how the game used to be in all its violence and skulduggery, but also in all its humour and camaraderie.

It is also a moving tale, sympathetically told by Peter Jackson, the recently retired rugby correspondent of the Daily Mail, because in 2006 Windsor was on the brink of suicide, saved only by a fortuitous chain of events.

Recently the Wales on Sunday newspaper compiled a list of its 50 hardest men in Welsh rugby history. It provoked much debate and discussion, but on one matter there was not one iota of disagreement: Windsor was No 1. Always was, always will be.

"The title of the book [The Iron Duke], Windsor’s nickname, originates from a speech made by the Toulouse president after Windsor had taken an awful hiding playing for Wales B against their French counterparts there. Windsor and the French just did not get on."

Scarlets playmaker Stephen Jones will tackle the Tigers once again this weekend © Getty Images

Stephen Jones, the Wales No.10, tells The Independent's James Corrigan how the Scarlets' thrilling resurrection will test old foes Leicester tonight.

"Parc y Scarlets hosts the biggest game of its existence when the eponymous heroes face the Tigers this evening. Yet although this clearly is the time to herald a brave new future there will be many in the stadium unable to escape the ghosts of Leicester past. And for Stephen Jones, one particularly gruesome memory sticks out.

"Of course, there was the 2002 Heineken Cup semi-final when Tim Stimpson, with the final play of the game, kicked a penalty from his own half which bounced off and over the crossbar. Jones would not be human, and would definitely not be a West Walian, if he still did not blame the fates for that perceived injustice. Except it is a rather more personal moment that is prone to make him come over all puce. The year was 2004, the scene was Welford Road and the hangover made him feel as if his own head had crashed against a crossbar.

"Leicester were desperate to sign the Wales No 10 and duly pulled out all the stops to make him feel at home. Geordan Murphy and Lewis Moody were seconded to entertain Jones but plainly took their responsibilities too seriously. "I returned to my hotel completely smashed," remembered Jones. "I was in a disgraceful state for a professional rugby player."

"A few hours later, his alarm went and Peter Wheeler, the Leicester chief executive, was there to take him to the meeting. "I spent two hours with the Leicester coaches, talking about their plans and what they wanted from me," said Jones. "But to this day I am ashamed I cannot remember a thing about it. It's all a complete blank."

Warren Gatland has put back naming his Wales squad for the Six Nations by a week to give a raft of casualties, headed by Shane Williams and Lee Byrne, a chance to prove their fitness for the big England showdown. The Western Mail's Andy Howell reports.

"Gatland planned to announce the men to prepare for the February 4 Millennium Stadium clash with the old enemy on Monday. But he has delayed the squad selection until January 24 to run the rule over the fitness of key personnel

"...The Western Mail understands Gatland doesn’t want to fall into the trap of last autumn when he named his November squad early but lost players, including Leigh Halfpenny and Rob McCusker, because of injuries they were carrying from regional rugby.

"This time, the Wales coach is giving Lions duo Williams (shoulder dislocation) and Byrne (wrist injury) extra days to prove they are ready for the rigours of a massive Six Nations opener against England by coming through Ospreys Heineken Cup games."

Rugby star Gavin Henson has provoked anger in Welsh rugby by telling an interviewer that doing well on Strictly Come Dancing was a greater feeling than winning the Six Nations with Wales. The Western Mail's Ciaran Jones reports.

"Several of Wales’ most famous former players yesterday said they were astonished by the comments from a player who helped Wales win the Six Nations twice, in 2005 and 2008.

"...It is the latest in a series of media embarrassments for the player, who earned the anger of his Wales teammates with remarks about them in his 2005 book My Grand Slam year.

"In one section of the interview he spoke of his pride in appearing on the BBC light entertainment show, saying: “To get a standing ovation and to get to the semi-finals was a great feeling. It tops any rugby moment, even winning the Six Nations.”

Andy Howell writes in the Western Mail that Leigh Halfpenny is ready to answer Wales’ wing injury crisis and propel them to victory over England in their big Six Nations opener.

"The ace finisher missed the autumn internationals because of an ankle injury but is ready to return to action and is hopeful of lining up for the Blues against the Dragons in next Monday’s Magners League derby shoot-out at Newport.

His comeback couldn’t come at a more opportune moment because Wales are set to be without shoulder injury victims Shane Williams and George North for the February 4 clash with the English at the Millennium Stadium.

Teenage sensation North took Halfpenny’s place against South Africa, marking a staggering Test debut with two tries, and held it for the clashes with Fiji and New Zealand.

But the absence of the 19-year-old Scarlets man and former world player of the year Williams means the door is wide open for the Lion to wear the No 14 jersey."

Writing in the Daily Mail, Chris Foy spots a chink of self-doubt in Gavin Henson ahead of the Welshman’s return to competitive rugby for Saracens.

"Gavin Henson has waltzed through the build-up to his rugby return with a confident swagger - making bold predictions about hitting the ground running. But, as he surveyed the scene of his Boxing Day comeback, there was a trace of uncertainty.

The 28-year-old double Grand Slam-winner, Lion and Strictly Come Dancing semi-finalist, was at Wembley for a few practice kicks at goal and a chance to visualise his first appearance for 21 months. On Sunday he is poised to make his debut for Saracens in their Aviva Premiership clash with Wasps, in front of a curious crowd of around 50,000.

The festive hordes will wonder whether the man who has become a reality TV star in the past six months can still cut it in the more brutal world of his old day job. They will judge if Henson the rugby player can support the weight of Henson the burgeoning brand.

The man himself has made positive noises about how quickly he will find his feet and earn a Wales recall for the Six Nations. He was similarly upbeat at Wembley but could not quite disguise an element of doubt. He thinks he will be fine, as good as new, if not better. But, after all the time out of action, he just does not know.

'I have no idea where I'm at to be honest, but I'm feeling pretty good,' Henson said. 'I just hope I can perform pretty well. I think it will be all right. I'm really excited about playing again, I just hope I'm going to be good, but I might not be. I try not to let negative thoughts come into my head, so in my mind I am playing unbelievable rugby! It might be a different thing in reality, but I'm staying positive.

'If it doesn't happen straight away, it doesn't happen straight away. I am back in rugby for good and I look after myself so hopefully I can play for another eight years. I am in it for the long haul.'"

In The Scotsman, Allan Massie airs his scepticism over Gavin Henson’s imminent return to rugby, casting doubt on whether he’ll recover his former world-class status.

"The old adage used to be "they never come back". It's as true, or untrue, as most of such sayings. We can all think of some individuals, in a variety of sports, who have indeed made a successful return after retirement or long absence as a result of injury.

Down in Wales just now there's a like clamour for the return of Gavin Henson for the Six Nations, even though it's almost two years since he played a game of rugby. There's word that he may play for his new club, Saracens, on Boxing Day. Perhaps he will, but I'll be surprised if he doesn't struggle. Henson of course is still quite young - only 28 - and was a very fine player, if not a great one; but it will be hard for him to pick up where he left off, and it would be no great surprise if he played a few games for Saracens and then dropped out again. It depends on how much he wants it, but a few weeks of Strictly, Come Dancing are scarcely adequate preparation for top-class rugby.

JPR Williams was a greater player than Henson, but when the Welsh selectors brought him back for a match at Murrayfield in 1981 after he had been out of international rugby for a couple of years, he had a terrible time and it was painful to watch."

Following his exit from Strictly Come Dancing, Gavin Henson has vowed to try to get back into Wales’ Six Nations and World Cup squads. The Western Mail reports.

"The rugby star – who has not played for nearly two years – said he would be putting television to one side and concentrating on his sporting career after his Strictly Come Dancing experience helped him regain his “energy and drive”.

"Henson was eliminated from the show last night at the semi-final stage. After learning the result, he said: “I’m going to concentrate on my rugby now. I’m keen to get into the Six Nations squad and the Rugby World Cup is coming up.

“I think maybe the television side of it is not going to happen for a while now. I hadn’t played rugby for nearly two years. It was a struggle injury-wise, for my body and form. I wasn’t in a very positive place and I needed to sort that out. But I’ve got my energy and my drive back now.”

"Henson is hoping he can transfer some of his fast footwork onto the rugby field as he focuses on re-building his career."

The Welsh players reflect on their draw with Fiji during a poor autumn campaign © Getty Images

Wales legend Barry John says that Welsh rugby will be eager to return to domestic matters following another disappointing set of autumn internationals and he is backing the Scarlets to lead the regions’ charge in Europe, in his column for Wales on Sunday.

“With the Heineken Cup resuming next weekend, I suspect the bulk of the Wales players are glad to be back with their regions and in fresh surroundings.

I think they [the Tri-Nations sides] are treating these European tours now as end of season jaunts where they can test out a few youngsters and see if they are up to Test match rugby. And this is one of the reasons why there’s a tedious feel to the autumn programme these days, especially from Wales’ point of view….

If there’s one Welsh region I do fancy [to qualify for the next stages of the Heineken Cup], it’s the Scarlets.

They were written off as a force in Europe at the start of the season but youngsters like George North, Ben Morgans, Jonathan Davies and Rob McCusker have been at the forefront of them defying their critics.

Yes, they were handsomely beaten by Leicester, and the Tigers will go on to win the group, I’m sure. But after beating Perpignan I think Nigel Davies’ men can give themselves a great chance of qualifying if they can get 10 points from their upcoming matches against Treviso.”

Writing in the Western Mail Rhodri Morgan argues that Warren Gatland must instill a ruthless edge to his current Welsh squad.

They say rugby is a game played in the top two inches.

Wales got themselves into a position, where they could have beaten any one out of South Africa, Australia or New Zealand, but they blew it and who cares about the “could haves”?

Imagine if Australia were 13-12 down to the All Blacks, but the All Blacks were 14-15 down in players on the field and have just given away a penalty and their heads are down, not panicking but definitely down. Australia would have won from there because they would have smelt blood. They would have said to each other: “Turn the Screw – turn the Screw!”

We didn’t nail it. We helped them back into the game and pretty soon they looked invincible again.

Mind you, looking ahead to the World Cup, we’ve got a pretty settled front five. Lydiate and Warburton look like the first choice flankers. The number 8 shirt could go to four or five players. The best choice back division is still very unclear. George North solves one problem but Lee Byrne and Mike Phillips are still not back to their Lions form. I don’t envy Warren Gatland his job. He has to instil that “yes we can” psychology and overcome white line fever.

Former Wales international Ieuan Evans believes Warren Gatland's side could have claimed a famous triumph against the All Blacks had they shown greater composure. Read his thoughts in the Sunday Telegraph.

"A real plus point after the performance against Fiji last week was that Wales denied New Zealand the chance to impose their game plan. When Wales have their first team playing, they are a match for anybody. However, they need to rediscover the ability to get over the finish line and to do that, they need to play for 80 minutes.

"A lack of composure has been a recurring theme. Under pressure, their decision making has let them down. But I don't want to be too negative because this was a very competitive game of rugby.

"The likes of Dan Lydiate and Sam Warburton, in particular, really stood up well as did the tight five forwards who went well again, in the scrum. It was also good to see us finishing on a high with Lee Byrne's stoppage time try.

"It's certainly a platform on which Warren Gatland can work and I have no doubt that some of these players have not only laid down a marker, but are in line to play a major part at the Six Nations and World Cup campaign."

Mick Cleary salutes the reappearance of the contract jinx as Warren Gatland's Wales continue to flounder in The Daily Telegraph.

"It may well be that Warren Gatland will come to merit the extension signed only a few weeks ago which takes him through to the 2015 World Cup. The mood in Wales, though, is bleak, and that in a country that has done its fair share of wailing and breast-beating. It knows its scales of desolation to the last teardrop.

"The arrival of New Zealand among them this week is only likely to render things All Blacker. Several generations have been raised now at granddaddy’s knee hearing tales of the last victory over the Kiwis way back in 1953. That’s a lot of time and a lot of hurt. Wales are floundering in their third worst sequence of results in their 129-year history: six Tests without a win. It’s alarming stuff."

Windsor awaits a lineout during the British & Irish Lions' tour of New Zealand in 1977 © Getty Images

Wales and Lions legend Bobby Windsor talks to the Wales on Sunday's Simon Thomas about life at the sharp end, his hardest rivals and why he’d love life on the front row today.

"Ask Bobby Windsor whether he was afraid before a match and he replies with an immediate, “No.”

But then, after a brief pause, he changes his mind “I was frightened about playing out in France,” he admits. “I had to get an aeroplane! I didn’t like that.”

"And that’s Bobby in a nutshell, a man who can deliver a punchline as effectively as he could deliver a punch.

"The reason for our conversation was to let him know that he’d been chosen as No 1 in our list of Welsh rugby’s hard men.

"Seldom has anything I’ve written ever produced such a response as my piece on the top 50 tough guys, with thousands upon thousands of hits on our website and a deluge of comments. People have come up with loads of suggestion of players who might have made the list, while others have questioned the running order.

"But no-one had argued with my choice of Bobby as No 1."

The Daily Telegraph's Graham Clutton reports from Wales' dismal showing against Fiji in Cardiff.

"Wales were denied a first victory in six matches when veteran outside half Seremaia Bai converted an 82nd minute kick after Jones strayed offside at a ruck near his own posts. For Jones, who has since apologised to his side for his misdemeanour, it was the end of a dismal night. Gatland said he will replace him as skipper with the Scarlets hooker Matthew Rees when Wales face the All Blacks next Saturday might and Jones’ place in the side might also be in jeopardy.

"The victory was celebrated wildly by the Fijians and it was no more than they deserved after an absorbing performance that was high on tempo and equally high on star quality. They dominated the breakdown, upset Wales at the line out and showed far greater ingenuity with ball in hand."

Writing in the Western Mail, Gwyn Jones reviews Wales' defeat to South Africa.

"The performance against South Africa was much better. Wales played with pace, imagination and a fair degree of skill. We scored three tries and could have scored more. The only disappointment was the result.

"Wales are a handling side. The mentality is to run and pass. IRB statistics show that Welsh forwards are second only to New Zealand in the number of passes. If the pack are comfortable throwing the ball around, it’s bound to be a fast and open game.

"One player who fits that description better than most is Andy Powell. He made an impressive return after his enforced exile. He is clearly a physical specimen but has surprising agility for his size. He gave a lift to the carrying game. There’s a perceptible change in pace when Powell takes the ball up and rather than plough on regardless he always tries to sidestep.

"He runs in an upright position and is able to ride the hit due to his strong core and quick feet. Therefore he is always well balanced and with his head up he is invariably looking to offload."

The Western Mail's Simon Thomas talks to Wales' new wing sensation George North following his outstanding debut in defeat to South Africa.

"At the end of last season, George North was playing for his school side and dreaming of turning out for the Scarlets.

Fast forward six months and he is a new star of Welsh rugby, having scored two tries on his Test debut against South Africa at the weekend.

The 18-year-old took just five minutes to make his mark on the international stage with his first touchdown and struck again midway through the second half to set up a thrilling finale.

“It was a great debut and fantastic to score two tries. I was really happy about that,” said the Rhyl Youth and Llandovery College product

“It’s hard coming from playing schoolboy rugby six months ago to facing the world champions . It is an amazing change."

Wales wing Shane Williams shares his thoughts on his side's narrow loss to South Africa and the performance of debutant George North with the Wales on Sunday's Delme Parfitt.

"I want to say a word about young George North. The only pity is that his contribution wasn’t part of a win, which it deserved to be. But we have only ourselves to blame for that.

However, I have to say I’m well chuffed for George, not just because he scored two nice tries but because everything else he did was solid and reliable.

The best compliment I can give him is that he looked like he belonged at Test level. It was a hugely mature and accomplished display to give on his Test debut. George didn’t shirk a thing and I expect him to go on from this."

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Steve James insists Wales need Gavin Henson to return to rugby sooner rather than later.

"Henson may even be starting to believe he can dance. And, for all our scepticism, we forget at our peril how good he was at rugby. He was hugely influential when Wales won two Grand Slams in 2005 and 2008. His passing and kicking games then cannot currently be matched in European rugby.

The trouble is that Saracens want him to play at fly-half. His dance partner, Katya Virshilas, even wore 10 on her back last weekend. He is OK in that position, but he can be world-class at inside centre.

Further trouble comes because his dancing popularity is improving. Taking his shirt off to reveal a chiselled physique has wooed the feminine vote. Incorporating a rugby ball into his routine even wooed the judges last weekend.

But I'd rather he was voted out swiftly. Let's just see him playing rugby again. Goodness, after their dreadful lack of creativity against Australia last Saturday, Wales could do with him. Ah, a centre partnership with Jamie Roberts!

Comebacks rarely work, but it's time to discover if this one can."

Ireland take on South Africa on Saturday © Getty Images

Paul Rees draws the attention of British papers to the fact that there are three games this weekend, not one, in The Guardian.

"A month of international rugby in Europe starts this weekend, although given the nature of media coverage these days you could be forgiven for thinking it was all about England, starting with New Zealand at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon.

"Wales face Australia in Cardiff at the same time, followed by Ireland and South Africa at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. At least Twickenham will be full: the grand slam winners in 2008 and 2009, Wales and Ireland respectively, ravaged by the recession, will have thousands of tickets unsold.

"Wales have saturated the international market in recent years, arranging an extra Test outside the official window in November as well as June. They need to pay for a deal they reached with their four regions over player release, but the estimated crowd for the Wallabies, in what should be, in terms of attacking intent, the game of the day is 20,000 below capacity."

Writing in The Independent, Dom Joly takes a light-hearted look at Gavin Henson's plans to resurrect his rugby career.

"Having eavesdropped on his telephone calls for a couple of days, I'm not convinced he's fully motivated for a return to the rough and tumble yet.

"Hello..."

"Gavin, mate?"

"Who's that?"

"It's Warren."

"Warren... Warren Beatty?"

"No, you big gullah, Warren Gatland – the coach of your national rugby team... Warren Beatty, you big poof, why would Warren Beatty be ringing you?"

"Oh, I've just written a musical of the film Shampoo, you know, the one with Julie Christie in the Seventies... I really want to play Beatty."

"Whoaa... rewind. You've written a flaming musical?"

"Well, Charlotte did most of it, like... but I gave all the songs their names."

"Well, I thought you were going to Saracens, not poncing about in a musical."

"I've got various interests, rugby is just one facet of that. I love musicals, dancing, sleeping in the Arctic, hair-care products, tanning salons..."

"All right, I get the picture. I've got the whole nation on my back telling me that I've got to put you in the national squad and you're behaving like Judy Garland on ecstasy. For Christ's sake, Gav, get a grip. Start doing what you're good at, not all this poncy nonsense. Tell you what, why don't you pop down and join the boys for a training session next weekend?"

"Weekends are really bad for me because of Strictly, Warren."

Gavin Henson he would never have spent his late 20s ballroom dancing if he had belief on the rugby pitch according to James Lawton © Getty Images

Writing in The Independent, James Lawton believes Gavin Henson lacks the belief that could have made him one of the greats.

"One of the more poignant aspects of Henson's situation is that at 28 he is a year older than his compatriot Barry John, arguably the greatest rugby player of them all, when he turned his back on the game a year after being crowned King John during a mesmerising tour of New Zealand. The comparison is savage because, psychologically, John was everything that Henson isn't – or ever likely to be. When he attended his first Welsh team session, John was asked by the older, and firmly established, Gareth Edwards how he would like the ball to be delivered, long or short. "You throw it, Gareth, I'll catch it," said the luminous neophyte.

"Henson was never going to dull the memory of John's genius but if he had showed, say five years ago, some of that self-confidence, the idea that he would be tentatively reconsidering a return to the game in 2010 would have been incredible. In 2005 he had a passionate rugby nation in his thrall. He was man of the match when the English were beaten and he landed a 48-metre penalty in the last moments. He had nerves of steel then, if not the deepest ambition.

"As late as the spring of last year Warren Gatland, the Welsh coach and assistant of the 2009 Lions in South Africa, was attempting to keep the door open for a reluctant protégé. He asked him to tour with Wales to keep alive a chance to make an impact with the Lions which was denied him four years earlier in New Zealand. Henson's mind and heart wasn't in it and now you have to wonder how deeply committed he is to possibly his last chance of exploiting gifts for which so many of his peers would give so much."

Wasps No.8 Andy Powell is set to win a recall for Wales’ clash against South Africa on November 13, according to Graham Clutton in the Daily Telegraph .

“Despite missing out on a place in coach Warren Gatland's 33-man squad for the upcoming, four-match series, it is understood that Powell will be called up after the opening game against Australia a week on Saturday.

The former Cardiff Blues forward was not eligible for that game anyway, as the November 6 showdown falls outside of the international window. His inclusion will certainly beef up a Wales pack that will need to be at its best against the Springboks, Fijians and finally, on November 27, against New Zealand.

For Powell himself, who won the first of his 12 caps against South Africa in November 2008, it would represent a realistic opportunity to challenge for a place in Gatland's World Cup squad next autumn.”

Brendan Gallagher is firmly on the side of Premier Rugby in the latest club v country row between Wales and English clubs in The Daily Telegraph.

"The Wales coach is reportedly "fuming" that Premier Rugby, in accordance with IRB guidelines it should be stated, won't be releasing the likes of Dwayne Peel and Andy Powell until August 4 next summer which, by my reckoning, is a full 38 days before Wales' opening World Cup match against South Africa in Wellington. I mean really how can anybody be expected to prepare for a tournament in just 38 days?

"Seriously. Just how much time do international coaches want these days? If Gatland had selected the English-based duo for the autumn internationals yesterday he would have access to them for the best part of a month in November while another two months "together" beckons in February and March during the Six Nations. It's not as if national coaches will be getting to July next and starting from scratch most of the ground work should already be in place. If not why not?"

Ryan Jones showed against London Irish in the Heineken Cup that if you are good the number on your back is not so important, according to The Observer's Eddie Butler.

"I don't suppose Ryan Jones fell to his knees in praise of the Ospreys' selection policy when he was picked in the second row to face Irish, but if he was anxious about his future as captain and No8 of Wales he disguised it pretty well. His performance in the No4 shirt, the one that normally comes with a set of donkey ears sewn on, was outstanding. His side gathered win points for themselves and denied a losing bonus point to their opponents.

"The Ospreys had nearly beaten Toulon with 33% possession and it seemed to chime with them that if primary ball-winning was an issue, at the lineout in particular, then they could make a virtue of mobility and the exertion of pressure in defence. Jones gave away a couple of penalties in time-honoured fashion for squirming into a position on the ground that delayed the exit of the ball, but he roamed and pounced and tackled and hit rucks with a vengeance, all part of the shuddering that reduced the game almost to a standstill in the closing minutes."

Warren Gatland is about to put pen to paper on a bumper new four-year deal with Wales. A WRU gamble, or do they really have a credible alternative? The Western Mail's Delme Parfitt explores.

"The decision to offer Warren Gatland a new contract running until 2015 is an indication not just of how highly the Welsh Rugby Union rate him, but also of the real dearth of alternative candidates for one of the hottest seats in the world game.

"That comment may produce a quizzical look from some. Hey, surely there are any number of top men out there who could have taken over had Gatland headed back to New Zealand? Well realistically, no there aren’t. We have to be circumspect when we consider this situation.

"...Gatland’s membership of the elite coaching strata is not in doubt, neither are his credentials as one of the best in the business. But the bottom line is that he currently needs some big results after 18 months of frustration on the scoreboard – and the looming opposition affords him next to no leeway."

Wales coach Warren Gatland is inching closer to putting pen to paper on a new deal with the Welsh Rugby Union, the Western Mail's Paul Abbandonato writes.

"The Western Mail has learned Gatland is happy in principle with the four-year contract on the table and could sign on the dotted line before the autumn international opener against Australia on November 6. The matter is at a delicate stage with lawyers pouring over the fine detail of the bumper package which has been put in front of Gatland by the WRU hierarchy.

"Behind the scenes negotiations have been taking place for several weeks, with Gatland weighing up whether to remain with Wales or go home to New Zealand. Another contract offer, believed to be from from Super 14 side the Waikato Chiefs, is also on the table and Gatland has been weighing up the pros and cons of the two jobs."

Cardiff Blues' Tom Shanklin believes the competition for places in the centre bodes well for Wales this season. The Western Mail's Simon Thomas reports.

"Shanklin himself has looked back close to his best, having recovered from the knee injury that ruled him out of Wales’ summer tour of New Zealand, while there’s more good news with James Hook having just made his comeback from shoulder surgery.

So, although Jamie Roberts remains sidelined after a wrist operation, coach Warren Gatland will have plenty of quality options for the autumn internationals.

And with Lions man of the series Roberts expected back for the Blues in December, Gatland will be even more spoiled for choice come the Six Nations.

“I think the competition bodes well,” said Shanklin.

“Whether I’m involved or not, we’ve got good strength in depth in the centre.

“Jonathan Davies and Andrew Bishop have got more experience now than they did, say two years ago, and know what it’s like and that’s showing.

“They will both have benefited from going to New Zealand in the summer. The Tests may have been lost, but you come away knowing what it’s like, knowing how good you need to be and how fit and strong you need to be to play at the top level."

Gethin Jenkins is ready to return to rugby © Getty Images

WalesOnline says that Blues boss Dai Young believes Wales prop Gethin Jenkins will return to his best form this season after overcoming injury troubles that plagued him last season.

“Gethin has been excellent in pre-season and has been really looking forward to getting back playing,” said the former Wales prop. “He’s very happy that he has got over a bit of a long-term injury in his calf. It may or less came from his foot. He had a bit of a toe problem and it was a follow-on from that.

“What he and the medics have done is look at different exercises to stop that. Last season, because there were always big games coming up for us and Wales, he never perhaps had the right time to totally get over it and put a bit of groundwork and rehab to make sure it’s 100 per cent.

“He’s had a solid base which he hasn’t had for a number of seasons because he’s always been on tours. He’s had a strong pre-season and he’s thirsty for rugby again, which is what you’ve got to try and get from your senior players – that hunger for rugby.”

Dafydd James is currently without a club © Getty Images

Scrum V reports that former Wales wing Dafydd James has "massive reservations" about the numbers of non-Welsh qualified players at the nation's four regions.

"Alright, it serves a purpose where it can help develop some players, but I think when you get too many players coming over, the younger guys then are not getting exposure, not getting the game time and can't develop. And hopefully this won't cause Wales too many problems, but unless the rules change slightly, I can see a few problems later on."

Performances for Cardiff, Wales and the Lions mean Martyn Williams has earned his testimonial © Getty Images

Martyn Williams is set to enjoy his testimonial this evening and writing in The Western Mail, Delme Parfitt pays tribute to the Wales openside.

"As unlikely as this may seem, there have been periods of Martyn Williams’ Wales career when he has had to be content with a substitute’s role. During one of these, under the reign of Steve Hansen, Williams, much to his chagrin, was compared to David Fairclough the old Liverpool striker famously christened “supersub” for his exploits off the bench in the Reds’ glory years of the late 1970s and early ’80s. Both had ginger hair, both usually changed the course of games after the coach gave them the nod to get stripped, both were no-frills fans’ favourites, appreciated for their willingness to spill blood and sweat in equal measure for the cause.

"Yet the Fairclough comparison could never truly get close to doing Williams justice. Instead, if you want to draw parallels with the Lions flanker and past Anfield players, try Kenny Dalglish – he wasn’t a bad No 7 either. People like Dalglish inhabit that upper echelon of players from these shores ever to have crossed the white line, footballing royalty if you like. Williams is the rugby equivalent, not just from a Welsh point of view either, but a British one too."

Gavin Henson could be ready for a stunning move across the Severn Bridge to revive his rugby career, the Western Mail reports.

"Sources in London say the double Grand Slam-winning centre is wanted by one of the leading clubs in England. Wasps and Harlequins could be amongst the Aviva Premiership giants interested in landing the box-office star of the Welsh game. But others could also be put on alert after Henson recently revealed he might need a new challenge away from the Ospreys.

"Henson has not played for the star-studded Welsh region since limping off injured in an EDF Cup semi-final defeat against Gloucester in March 2009 and the 28-year-old has not been included as a squad member on their website for the 2010-11 season.

"It is understood the Ospreys are aware bosses at a giant of the English game are trailing Henson, but point out he has still a year to go on his contract at the Liberty Stadium. Asked about Henson’s future yesterday, Ospreys elite performance director Andrew Hore maintained that if the player returned to action it would have to be with them."

The Welsh Rugby Union is close to resurrecting the Wales A team as a stepping stone towards full international level. The Western Mail's Andy Howell reports.

"WRU boss Roger Lewis revealed the money is in the kitty to bring back the country’s second string. The 'A' side, which had won European Grand Slams, was controversially scrapped by then WRU group chief executive David Moffett in January 2003 on cost-cutting grounds.

"It was one of a number of swingeing cuts, including redundancies, made by the then cash-strapped organisation in an effort to bring spending under control.

"But the WRU is today on a firmer financial footing, having increased its revenue streams and reduced its multi-million pound debt significantly. Lewis said talks are taking place with Wales coach Warren Gatland and development chief Joe Lydon about bringing Wales A back into being."

Wales coach WarrenGatland has arrived back in Wales to find WRU boss Roger Lewis insisting he won’t be a pre-World Cup fall guy. The Western Mail's Andy Howell reports.

"Wales have a dismal record of firing coaches in the build-up to World Cups – and Gatland’s team face a demanding schedule ahead of the 2011 tournament in New Zealand.

"But Lewis expects Wales to do well in the autumn against the southern hemisphere super-powers and also shine in the Six Nations tournament that follows.

“Will Warren coach Wales at the next World Cup?” said Lewis. “Am I a betting man? You bet. You have got to put a judgement on it. I’m confident the results we will achieve in the autumn and in the Six Nations will not make this question relevant at all.”

In an interview with The Independent, former British & Irish Lions captain Gareth Thomas talks about homosexuality and how he's happier than ever since 'coming out'.

"It takes a lot to stop Gareth Thomas smiling these days. From the moment the 6ft 3in Welsh rugby legend walks into the room, his Cheshire cat grin seems to be permanently propping up his ears. In December, the 36-year-old became the first professional rugby player to come out as gay.

"I'm beaming. I'm constantly beaming," he admits, flashing a toothy grin, reconstructed after rugby took away his real incisors. "I always thought the world was a horrible place and that justified me lying. But what I found is the world isn't a dark place... The truth has set me free."

Jonathan Thomas looks set to get his wish by being employed in the same position by both club and country this season. The Western Mail's Delme Parfitt reports.

"During Wales’ summer tour of New Zealand, the 58-times capped forward spoke of his frustration at having to fill one role for the Ospreys and another for the national team.

"He played virtually all of his regional rugby last season in the second row, yet was mainly utilised on the blindside flank by Wales coach Warren Gatland. Thomas’ concern was that having to switch from one role to another was working against him and he made a plea for the Ospreys and Wales to sit down and reach a joint decision on his positional future.

"Now it looks as though he might be about to get his way. Ospreys coach Sean Holley has dropped a clear hint that the 27-year-old Grand Slam winner will be employed largely in his Welsh back-row role this season.

"With lock Ian Evans back to full fitness and veteran back rower Filo Tiatia having retired, Thomas can expect to figure in the breakaway department over the coming months.The chances of that happening are increased further by the fact young back-row forward Tom Smith faces some four months on the sidelines through injury."

The Independent on Suinday's Emily Duggan talks to Gareth Thomas about his life since his decision to come out as gay.

"It takes a lot to stop Gareth Thomas smiling these days. From the moment the 6ft 3in Welsh rugby legend walks into the room, his Cheshire cat grin seems to be permanently propping up his ears. In December, the 36-year-old became the first professional rugby player to come out as gay.

"I'm beaming. I'm constantly beaming," he admits, flashing a toothy grin, reconstructed after rugby took away his real incisors. "I always thought the world was a horrible place and that justified me lying. But what I found is the world isn't a dark place... The truth has set me free."

"Unlike the Welsh rugby referee Nigel Owens, who came out in 2007 ahead of the World Cup, Thomas chose to come out after he had retired as the captain of Wales and his career in rugby union was almost over. But his coach and team-mates knew the truth years before. "They were great. That was the start of realising that the people who I thought might boot me out actually closed ranks with me."

James Hook has opened make-or-break talks about his future with the Ospreys as crack French clubs line up to offer him the No 10 dream he craves with Wales. The Western Mail's Andy Howell reports.

"The Lions star’s contract runs out in May and it will take a massive pay-rise to keep him at the Liberty Stadium and out of the clutches of one of Perpignan, Toulouse or Toulon.

"Hook’s representatives are expected to hold more discussions with power-brokers at the Ospreys on Friday.

"However, it would almost certainly require a record pay packet for a Welsh player if they are to prevent Hook from upping sticks and moving to France.

"Hook is unhappy at being shunted from outside-half to centre by the Ospreys and wearing 13 and 15 for Wales.

"Hook could expect to be paid £500,000 a year to play in the French Championship and a two-year deal the other side of the English Channel should set him up financially."

Could Mickey Rourke play Gareth Thomas in the big screen version of the player's life? © Getty Images

Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke is interested in bringing the life of Wales and Lions star Gareth Thomas to the big screen - but the Western Mail's Carolyn Hitt believes he hasn't got the stomach to play Alfie.

"Rourke has apparently been interested in putting the oval ball on the silver screen for some time but struggled for his perfect plot until he discovered the Alfie narrative. The story of the 35-year-old’s life and career is undoubtedly a riveting tale, but is it one 57-year-old Rourke can do justice to? Without even contemplating the linguistic challenge of replicating Alfie’s Pencoed patois – hearing the Hollywood hard man chirping “Alright butt?” would be worth the cinema ticket alone – is he up to it physically?

"Sculpted and muscular Alfie prides himself on one of the best six-packs in the game. Judging by the last topless glimpse we had of Rourke – playing Randy “The Ram” Robinson in The Wrestler – he is rather more party pack.

"The most successful sport films are the ones that use sport to explore a bigger theme – the miraculous triumph of the unlikely team or the individual who proves every underdog has his day if he wants it badly enough.

"The story of a gay man becoming one of the most successful players of all time in a sport characterised by machismo has obvious Hollywood script appeal."

Shane Williams last night vowed to dazzle for Wales right through to the World Cup after revealing: “I feel 10 years younger.” The Western Mail's Delme Parfitt reports,

"Wales’ record try scorer insists a summer of rest and recuperation has given him a new lease of life as he embarks on the countdown to New Zealand 2011.

Williams agonised over whether to pull out of the summer tour to New Zealand before deciding to rest his troublesome shoulder. And, when Warren Gatland praised James Hook’s willingness to play through the pain barrier against South Africa, delaying shoulder surgery in the process, it seemed like a veiled swipe at Williams.

But the Lions winger, 33, says he has no regrets now about his decision to stay at home.

“The shoulder’s really good, I’ve had the ideal summer to be honest.” said Williams as he steps up preparations for the new campaign.

“I was disappointed not to go on the tour, but I think it’s done me the world of good.

“I’ve come back in to start training this week and I’m feeling fresh. I feel 10 years younger."

While Jamie Roberts’ injury and Gavin Henson’s future have been the talk of Welsh rugby, Tom Shanklin has busy preparing to play in a third World Cup campaign. The Western Mail's Simon Roberts reports.

"Shanklin, Wales’ most-capped centre, appears to have become Wales’ forgotten man ahead of New Zealand 2011.

"Shanks, one of the real warriors of the Welsh game, hasn’t even been mentioned in dispatches and his return has been typically low key.

"While there has been a gnashing of teeth about Roberts’ injury and much head-scratching about Henson’s self-enforced absence, Shanklin has been busy in the gym in a bid to prove himself where it matters – on the field.

"For a double Grand Slam winner and a Lion, it’s been a new experience for Shanks watching Andrew Bishop of the Ospreys and Scarlets rookie Jonathan Davies move centre stage as candidates for the forthcoming autumn Tests.

"The 30-year-old, who won the first of his 66 Wales caps against Japan in Tokyo in 2001, is clearly bemused by his current predicament."

Simon Thomas ponders Wales possible selection at the 2011 World Cup with Gavin Henson in mind in The Western Mail.

"It’s October 8, 2011, at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington. It’s the opening quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup between Wales and Australia. Warren Gatland’s men have finished as runners-up behind South Africa in Pool D to book a last-eight clash with the Pool C-winning Wallabies.

"The question is, what team does Gatland select for this make-or-break game? It would take a crystal ball of Mystic Meg proportions to provide the correct answer this far out, but it’s a good talking point, so here goes...

"The key thing to consider is what would Gatland do if he had everyone available to him? And, of course, that issue of availability immediately turns thoughts towards a certain Gavin Henson."

Former Wales captain Mervyn Davies believes current coach Warren Gatland will head home to take the All Blacks' reins after next year's World Cup. He talks to the Western Mail's Gareth Griffiths.

"I don’t think Warren Gatland will stick around after the World Cup,” said the former Wales captain, who led his nation to the Grand Slam in 1976. “My guess is he will be back in New Zealand coaching the All Blacks. I think he’s using the Wales job as a stepping stone to coaching New Zealand.

“I am not being critical there and I don’t have anything against the southern hemisphere guys. I have met Warren and he seems a nice enough bloke. He has tried hard with Wales, but I believe his main goal would probably be to hold the reins for his own country."

Delme Parfitt urges Wales boss Warren Gatland not to count Andy Powell out after reports emerged linking the player with a move to France in The Western Mail.

"With Wales’ disintegrating back row not far from the top of Warren Gatland’s ‘to-do’ list, the demise of Andy Powell since his buggygate indiscretion comes as proof that, sometimes in professional rugby coaching, it never rains but it pours.

"Reports emerged yesterday that Powell has held talks about a move to French club Agen, which was a departure from months of speculation about an imminent defection to rugby league with the Crusaders. Whatever the substance of either link, one thing appears certain; Powell wants out of his present environment where he has become a fringe player with both the Blues and Wales.

"There will be those who bid him good riddance because the former Newport, Leicester and Beziers player’s style is far too crude for some."

Wales coach Warren Gatland has been linked with a move back to New Zealand following next year's Rugby World Cup © Getty Images

The Western Mail's Andy Howell believes the WRU should be in no rush to hand coach Warren Gatland a new contract beyond the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

"The WRU feel the need to examine Warren Gatland’s contract position they should cast their gaze across the Severn Bridge towards English football. For it might just stop them making an expensive mistake.

"Gatland is playing a clever game by revealing he’s considering several offers to leave his post as Wales coach following the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand. The Kiwi’s current deal expires at the end of that tournament and the WRU could let it run its course and not offer Gatland an extension, as the Union did with Steve Hansen in 2004.

"But there seems to be a desire among members of the inner circle at the Welsh Rugby Union to keep the highly-paid Gatland on after the World Cup. There’s a danger the public utterances of the canny Gatland will result in them panicking and rushing to offer the 46-year-old a new deal."

Wales' Lee Byrne is wrapped up by New Zealand's Brad Thorn © Getty Images

Writing in the Western Mail, Gareth Edwards wonders when Wales will stop repeating the errors which have cost them so dearly over the last 12 months.

"We’ve constantly talked about discipline, too frequent lapses in concentration and basic mistakes, whether they’ve been missed tackles, losing the ball in contact or conceding possession at the lineout since last autumn. Those mistakes continually cropped up during the Six Nations Championship – against England, Scotland, Ireland and France – and they haven’t been eradicated this month.

"Playing world and Tri-Nations champions South Africa and going to New Zealand for two Tests was certainly a step-up from what Europe has to offer. But written on my end of term report are the words: “Bags of potential but made too many mistakes. Must cut out the carelessness, knuckle down to the job in hand and concentrate for the duration of examinations.”

Legendary Welsh fly-half Barry John believes that Wales' problems against the All Blacks are all in the mind in Wales on Sunday.

"I was sat with a friend this week, watching Federer two sets to nil down at Wimbledon and seemingly on the verge of suffering one of the biggest shocks in tennis history. My friend turned to me and told me the Wimbledon champion was going to get knocked out. I replied: “Not a chance”.

"Why? Because Federer has been in situations like that before and knows how to get himself out of them. He knows what is needed to win. He went on to do exactly that and to prove my point. Sport at the very highest level is about the mind and about belief and absolute confidence in your ability to handle everything and ultimately win.

"That is the challenge for Gatland’s Wales now. I don’t believe this current crop of Welsh players fear New Zealand at all, but they don’t know how to beat them, or even expect to beat them."

There is only one thing worse in rugby than leaving New Zealand with a diminished sense of self-respect, and that is leaving in the knowledge that a return trip is just around the corner. The Independent's Chris Hewett reports from Hamilton.

"The next time Wales play in this city will be in 15 months, when they take on Samoa in the second match of their 2011 World Cup campaign, and they will find themselves here again at the end of the pool stage, against Fiji. The Welsh have an unfortunate habit of losing to Pacific Islands teams at global tournaments so the more reconnaissance they can do on this trip, the better.

"Many people expect next year's competition to signal the end of Warren Gatland's tenure as national coach, so the former All Black hooker's chances of beating a major southern hemisphere nation on their own turf are fast disappearing. This morning's game against his own countrymen is not obviously a golden opportunity, given the hiding dished out to the tourists in Dunedin a week ago, but a fully competitive performance will at least raise Gatland's spirits after the frustrations of the last two seasons."

Did Wales lose the plot last weekend and revert to the safety of kicking? Wynne Gray certainly thinks so in The New Zealand Herald.

"Wales began promisingly in their latest assault on the 57-year victory hiatus against the All Blacks.

"They created some intense pressure, charging down Daniel Carter's attempted clearance and carrying the ball from side to side across Carisbrook.

"Then they lost it. It was either a lack of confidence or patience or both. But after three and a half minutes of serious inquiry, first five-eighths Stephen Jones dropped back in the pocket and dropped a goal from 35m. Damned fine droppie too, three points down the high-diddle-diddle."

Chris Hewett takes a look at Warren Gatland's desire to prove a point on home turf when Wales take on the All Blacks in Hamilton in The Independent.

"Warren Gatland, the Wales coach, knows enough about this rain-sodden corner of the union world – the farmlands of Waikato, where, in recent memory, one British and Irish Lions touring team was swept away on a floodtide of raw rugby energy and another suffered the painful indignity of trial by New Zealand Maori – to understand the nature of tomorrow's contest with the All Blacks. He was born here, after all. "It's nice that we're in town," he said, a trifle uncomfortably, before spending the next half-hour talking about respect and redemption.

"Last week in Dunedin, just before England chiselled out a face-saving victory over a weakened Wallaby side on the other side of the Tasman, the Welsh played half a game's worth of decent Test rugby against a New Zealand outfit armed with Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter, respectively the best forward and the finest back in the sport. Half was never likely to be enough and they ended up losing 42-9. As second Tests are generally harder for a touring side to win than first ones, despite immediate English experience to the contrary, Gatland and his players have something of a challenge on their hands."

New Zealand's Dan Carter stretches the Wales defence in Dunedin last weekend © Getty Images

Writing in the Western Mail, Gwyn Jones believes the debate must now begin as whether or not Carter is the greatest rugby player that has ever lived.

"Those who saw [Gareth] Edwards, [Barry] John and the other past greats are better placed than I am in making that judgement and comparing players from different eras is always difficult, but Carter has my vote. So when God’s representative on earth turned on the style in the second half, it should not have surprised anyone that the All Blacks moved up a class and the contest was over.

"Yet the disappointing aspect from a Welsh perspective is that Wales fell apart so drastically in the second period.

"In the past we have blamed the fitness levels for the deterioration but I’m not sure that it’s quite that simple. The Welsh players are a pretty fit bunch. Wales were the comeback kids in the Six Nations and the Blues came back strongly to beat Toulon only a few weeks ago. I think the problem is more psychological."

Writing in the Irish Independent, Peter Bills believes the northern hemisphere's finest are still struggling when it comes to, "pace, tempo and intensity".

"...the point is, players from this part of the world continue to struggle with those expectations. Every year, around this time, they travel to the southern hemisphere and trot out to meet the locals in their own backyard. They think they're prepared and ready, but they're not.

"It is unfair on them for they are unaccustomed to the intense demands of the game in the southern hemisphere. They may be fit, may even be in form, but what they are seldom ready for are [Warren] Gatland's three words -- the pace, tempo and intensity of the game.

"Ireland were thrashed in New Plymouth, Wales likewise in Dunedin -- both against the All Blacks. England were abject in their first test against Australia in Perth and the French were an embarrassment in Cape Town against South Africa."

Tavis Knoyle has dedicated his first Wales cap against the All Blacks to his close family in the South Wales Evening Post.

"It was a huge honour for me to come on and represent my country and I wanted to do my best but it was difficult in the circumstances.

"If someone had told me at the start of the season I'd be playing for Wales against the All Blacks then I would have said they needed their head examined.

"Of course, it was a great experience and Rob Howley gave me a pat on the back at the end and said 'Well done'. But the scoreline was so disappointing because we had been training so well especially after the South Africa game."

Wales must raise their game on Saturday to reignite its sibling rivalry with the All Blacks, according to the Western Mail's Caroline Hitt.

"When Wales beat New Zealand in 1953 the All Blacks conceived a cunning plan to ensure we would suffer for this victory for the next 57 years. They invited Wales to visit them on tour – an experience that has inflicted unmitigated pain ever since.

"Although a British team had first voyaged to the land of the long white cloud in 1888 and the first official British Lions side arrived in 1930, none of the home nations had travelled by themselves to take on the rugby might of the southern hemisphere.

"And it wasn’t to be in the aftermath of the 1953 win – a triumph so damaging to the All Black psyche that Sean Fitzpatrick’s father Brian could never bear to visit Cardiff again. In the ’50s, the invitation to Wales from the New Zealand Rugby Union was vetoed by the International Board, which feared its impact on Lions tours and that touring per se would become too frequent."

f Wales are to stand any chance of beating New Zealand at Carisbrook on Saturday, then never mind worrying about what Graham Henry's lot will throw at them, they must first ensure their own house is in order, according to WalesOnlin's Delme Parfit.

"1. Sort out the lineout - Nobody is asking Wales to clean up in this area, but please, can we at least see them solid on their own ball? I suppose on recent evidence it would be progress to see them burgled just twice in the entire match. But it would also be refreshing to see them challenge on the All Blacks throw as well, so Graham Henry's men don't see the set-piece as a guaranteed source of ball. Whatever, we must see improvement here or Wales can kiss goodbye to even competing on the scoreboard.

"...7. Show some mental toughness - I'm talking about not following up a score by immediately conceding one. I'm talking about getting the basics right under pressure. I'm talking about not becoming like rabbits caught in headlights if you happen to take a decent lead. I'm talking about being able to adapt what you are doing to the changing circumstances of this particular game. I'm talking about not giving away silly penalties through sheer panic (we know Carter won't miss). I'm talking about all of Wales' Lions players showing the experience they are supposed to have and leading from the front, by example and through authoritative communication, should they find things are not going their way. All are simple basic requirements of top sides. All, sadly, have been found wanting in Wales in recent times."

No-one knows more about the flak that can fly in the direction of a fly-half than Stephen Jones, according to Simon Thomas in the Western Mail.

"Despite having earned close-on 90 Welsh caps, won two Grand Slams and played six Tests for the Lions, the Scarlets No 10 has spent a fair chunk of his career dodging the bullets from punters and pundits alike. He accepts it goes with the territory and realises that’s just the way it is when you are an outside-half.

But even Jones has been shocked by the criticism that has been levelled at his Kiwi counterpart Dan Carter this year.

Having been the golden star of New Zealand rugby for years, Carter suddenly found himself under fire following a disappointing Super 14 campaign for the Crusaders.

Perish the thought, but there were even some voices questioning whether he was still the right man to pull the strings for Graham Henry’s All Blacks."

Paul Ackford believes that a northern hemisphere side must win on tour this summer to keep alive any semblance of pride in The Daily Telegraph.

"Since that visit, which encouraged the self-belief which led to global dominance two months later, England’s record has been execrable: a 51-15 defeat in Brisbane in 2004, followed by two Tests in 2006 which England lost 34-3 in Sydney and 43-18 in Melbourne.

"Yet, incredibly, England are the success story here. Wales have never won a Test match in New Zealand, Ireland have never beaten the All Blacks and last triumphed in Australia way back in 1979, and Scotland’s record against Argentina stands at two victories from 10 outings.

"That’s the reality right there. For all the smug self-congratulation at the commercial success of the Six Nations championship, for all the inflated salaries which the top players earn in this part of the world, when it comes to winning Test matches on the other side of the planet, we’re no bloody good."

James Hook feels Wales are preventing themselves from becoming a top international side in the Wales On Sunday.

“It’s so frustrating to lose a game after being 16-3 up,” said Hook, who scored his 10th Wales try. “We had the game by the scruff of the neck and a few errors let us down. “I don’t think we are very far away but at times we need to do the basics very well. Against a quality side like South Africa you can’t do it and they punished us.

“We shoot ourselves in the foot, we scored a try and then let them straight back into the game. Warren said we have got to do the basics well at times and not try and play too much rugby. We try to play too much rugby instead of just holding on to the ball and running hard like they did. We need to concentrate on not making any mistakes for five or 10 minutes immediately after we score."

Warren Gatland says that he thinks Wales are on the brink of another golden era in The Times.

“In the next four years Welsh rugby will go through a golden era with the regions doing well [and] international teams doing well.”

Ahead of the Magners League Grand Final between Ospreys and Leinster, the Irish Independent's David Kelly profiles Welsh No.9 Mike Phillips.

"There's a lot of Mike Phillips. Quite a lot, in fact. Sixteen and a half stone of beef that scrapes the sky just a tad below six feet and three inches. In a position -- scrum-half -- where exponents are marked by their diminutive size and rapid delivery of both ball and invective, Phillips stands out. Extremely so.

"The apparently true story of Phillips' first meeting with Welsh coach Warren Gatland is instructive. Gatland told the 28-year-old that he was one of the most intimidating scrum-halves in the game. The player's response was instantly delivered with deadpan poise. "And the best-looking." Yes, this boy's got game.

"Much of the trumpet-blowing is justified; he was one of the outstanding tourists on last summer's Lions tours and, as Gatland rightly surmised, he remains one of the game's most intimidating forces at No 9.

"But just like the Galacticos whom he represents, it is fair to say that the narcissistic element of Phillips' character has often undermined, rather than underlined, his prowess as a rugby player."

Andy Powell has spoken for the first time about the fallout from his golf buggy antics © Getty Images

In his first interview since his infamous early morning buggy ride, Andy Powell tells The Guardian's Donald McRae about the difficult fallout,

"After a hard night of drinking in Cardiff, the lure of a service-station fry-up on a winter morning proved irresistible to an impulsive reveller. Heading out on to the motorway in a 15mph buggy, Powell used one of his massive hands to scoop up a cone and a flashing orange light. It did not take long for the first motorist to call the police.

"After his arrest, and having failed a breath test, Powell was fined and banned from driving for 15 months. He was also dumped by Wales – with his banishment only ending this week when Warren Gatland named him in the squad to play South Africa next month before flying to New Zealand. But, simultaneously, he has been faced by a dilemma which could soon lead him to switch codes and become a rugby league player.

"It's been really tough," Powell says, his jokey manner replaced by sombre introspection, "and far harder than I ever thought. The last few months have been quite low and having an injury hasn't helped. I've been in a downward spiral I'm only just escaping. I once gave up rugby for a year when I doubted myself. But this time has been different. I'm having to ring friends to ask for a lift here, there and everywhere. It's putting other people out and I don't like that. I've got good friends around me but I really regret what I did."

Next week in Marseilles, Martyn Williams will fill in just about the only remaining blank on his glittering CV when he lines up for the Blues against Toulon in the final of the European Challenge Cup. The Western Mail reports.

"It was October 1996 when Martyn Williams made his European debut as Pontypridd’s openside flanker in a Heineken Cup victory over Treviso at Sardis Road. Now, 14 years and 77 matches later, the double Grand Slam winner can finally look forward to stepping out in a continental final when the Blues meet Toulon in the Amlin Challenge Cup final on May 23.

"Along the way it’s been something of a rollercoaster for the man nicknamed ‘Nugget’. There was the infamous Battle of Brive in 1997 and five Heineken quarter-final appearances – with Ponty (1999), Cardiff (2000 & 2001) and the Blues (2008 & 2009). And, of course, there’s been one hugely painful Heineken semi – last year’s outing against Leicester when he was the unfortunate soul to miss the decisive kick in the penalty shoot-out.

"But there has been no Euro final – until now."

Tony Roche builds up Wasps' meeting with Cardiff Blues as a clash between England and Wales in The Independent.

"When it comes to flying the flag, no club does it better than Wasps.

"A 60,000 Twickenham crowd created a fabulous atmosphere at the club's superbly organised St George's Day game last weekend during which the England banner was everywhere to be seen – unlike English clubs in Europe this weekend.

"The Heineken Cup, which Wasps have won twice, contains no English representatives in the semi-finals this weekend for the first time since 2003. Wasps are the nation's sole remaining European competitor and they face Cardiff Blues on Saturday in the Amlin Challenge Cup semi-final at Adams Park."

Wales centre Gavin Henson has signalled his intention to return the game next season © Getty Images

Should Gavin Henson return to rugby next season, the Western Mail's Blair Wood believes the question on everyone’s lips will be whether or not his body and mind remain strong enough to play the game at the top level.

"Comebacks in any sport are never a guaranteed success. But, when it comes to the unique physical demands of rugby, it is very much a sink or swim scenario.

"No man knows that more than former Wales international Leigh Davies. The big-hitting centre walked away from rugby to spend a year travelling the world only to discover upon his return that the sport had moved on without him and there was no way he could make up for lost time.

"When Davies quit he had 21 Wales caps to his name and had just captained the Scarlets to the Celtic League title. When he returned, having signed to play alongside Henson at the Ospreys, his body couldn’t take the hits, his mind couldn’t deal with the pressure and he left after a year."

The Western Mail's Carolyn Hitt argues that is time that Welsh legend Cliff Morgan joined rugby's knights.

"The great man of rugby, broadcasting and charitable largesse turned 80 this week.

"It is a fitting milestone to reflect on why he deserves to hear those three little words “Arise Sir Cliff”. (And if you want to add your voice to the campaign it’s easy to download a nomination form on the honours page of www.direct.gov.uk).

"It all started with the rugby, of course, as the fly-half from Trebanog darted and dazzled for Cardiff, Wales and the British Lions, leaving defenders grasping thin air and supporters gasping in admiration at his audacity. Yet even when Mr Magic – as the late John Billot described him – was weaving his spell on the field he transcended the boundaries of his sport.

"The match programmes of his era hailed him as “the greatest personality in British rugby today”. And as rugby and television collided for the first time, Cliff became the sport’s first great entertainer."

Writing in the Western Mail, Keith Fairbank reflects on Pontypool RFC's current plight.

"For a generation of rugby fans, the names Price, Faulkner and Windsor immediately evoke memories of one of the most famous units in the sport’s history: the fearsome Pontypool front row. But the club that once provided the famous Wales and Lions trio has fallen on hard times – prompting fears for the future of one of Welsh rugby’s most illustrious clubs.

"Within 20 years, Pontypool RFC has gone from being one of Wales’ mightiest teams to the brink of extinction. Now supporters are worried about the prospects of one of the country’s sporting institutions.

The team stand one place off the bottom of the Premiership – a year after dodging relegation to the second tier on the last day of the season. But while the club look likely to survive this year, prominent supporters are eager to secure the club’s long-term future – and with it a crucial cog in the heritage of a community."

Keith Earls dives over for his second try at Croke Park © Getty Images

Vincent Hogan salutes Ireland's economy of effort following their latest Six Nations success in The Irish Independent.

"In Galilee, they'd have put Declan Kidney in charge of weddings. We've no desire to blaspheme here, but that 'Miracle in Cana' business has, of late, been getting plagiarised by 15 men in green. If it's not quite a water-into-wine thing going down, Ireland's redemptive Six Nations charge has still got people checking replays for tricks of the light.

"How do they do it? For two games running now, they've let the opposition have the ball as if it's making a ticking sound. Then, sporadically, they grab it back and serenade us all with lovely little trumpet lines of creation.

"The possession and territory stats tell us that Ireland should be in crisis. On Saturday, Wales spent precisely twice as much time in Irish territory during the second half as we did in theirs. In total, the visitors won twice as much ball in open play and completed 187 passes to Ireland's 109. Yet, from the slew of red advances, what exactly did they reap? Nothing."

Wales fullback Lee Byrne shows his disappointment at being sin-binned in their loss to Ireland in The Independent.

“I'm gutted. I let the boys down. I take responsibility for being sin-binned. Ireland scored 10 points when I was off the field. It was a key moment of the game. Yellow cards almost always are at this level.

“I don't need to be told how costly they can be, particularly after what happened at Twickenham. The coaches have drummed into us the importance of keeping our discipline. I didn't. And I hold my hands up.

“So what happened in the 25th minute? Well I was in the bottom of a ruck in their 22 and was on the wrong side. As they went to move the ball away I just caught the ball with my hand. It wasn't deliberate, but I'm not going to quibble. The referee had just issued us a warning. I shouldn't have been there.”

Vincent Hogan prepares himself for the latest bout of mud slinging from Warren Gatland in the build up to Ireland and Wales' Six Nations showdown in The Irish Independent.

”Well. I wonder what gentle incendiaries Warren Gatland has lined up for us this week. All may appear pleasant and tranquil right now, but it wouldn't be Ireland v Wales if Warren wasn't planning to throw his jacket on the ground and invite half the country outside to answer for some imagined slight.

“So, what will it be this time? Or, more pointedly, who? Gatland has a problem with Irish rugby in the way Michael O'Leary has a problem with the Dublin Airport Authority. He feels that business between them has been soured by a toxic, personal agenda which, I'm afraid, makes him snappy as a menopausal warthog.

“And just about as rational. In 2008, he played his 'et tu, Brute' card against Eddie O'Sullivan. Last year, he went after the Irish players with his peaceable "Wales dislike Ireland more than any other team" address.”

Wales fullback Lee Byrne is tired of conceding big leads and sees the irony in their current situation in The Independent.

"What makes it seem stranger is that Wales always used to be a team who would start well and then tail off as the gas ran out. Gas is clearly not a problem now. Yet starting well is. In fact, we're handing it to the opponents. I suppose the game against France on Friday night was a case in point. Those two interception tries were about the only chances they had in the first half. They didn't break us once otherwise. But they went in 20-0 up. Even they must have been thinking that "this is really weird". They hadn't stretched us at all.

"What was said in our dressing room at the break? There were no massive rollockings or anything. We just vowed not to concede another try. We achieved that. We knew we would score points. We just didn't score enough. We had the chances, mind you. I was guilty of kicking a penalty the wrong side of the French corner flag. What can I say? The adrenaline was pumping and the ball caught the outside of my boot. I probably couldn't do it again in 100 attempts. I couldn't help but show my disappointment."

Chris Hewett is surprised at the inclusion on Mike Phillips on the Wales bench to face France, and blames Dwayne Peel's stay at Sale for the development in The Independent.

"Mike Phillips may or may not be the best scrum-half in European rugby – those subscribing to this view, who include Phillips himself, can bring as evidence three wonderful Test performances for the British and Irish Lions against the Springboks last summer – but this much is certain: the Wales coach Warren Gatland considers him a better bet than Dwayne Peel, his immediate predecessor with the Lions. A day after recalling Peel to his squad, Gatland named Phillips ahead of him for Friday night's Six Nations meeting with France in Cardiff.

"In a major reshuffle of the cards at No 9, the Cardiff Blues half-back Richie Rees will replace his club colleague Gareth Cooper in the starting line-up. With Cooper dropping out of the match-day squad altogether, there was a spare seat on the bench.

"Most observers assumed Peel, who plays his club rugby in England with Sale and is not in particularly good odour with Gatland because of it, would be selected there, on the grounds that while he had been injured, he had not been nearly as injured as Phillips. What was more, he had played for Wales during the autumn."

Writing in The Western Mail, Caroline Hitt asks whether Andy Powell's late night antics can be recovered in a third coming.

"As sporting scandals go, there is something almost poignantly childish about Powell’s escapade, right down to the discarded pair of Under Armour pants found in the back of the buggy.

"On the fall from grace front, it’s in the “Fredalo” category of drunk sportsman in charge of sedate means of transport or John Jeffrey drop-kicking the Calcutta Cup up the Royal Mile rather than Stan Collymore’s dubious activities in a dark car park. Powell’s prank doesn’t compare with John Terry’s dalliances, Ashley Cole’s “sexting” or Tiger Woods’ ever-lengthening list of birdies because it elicits a mix of exasperation and hilarity rather than disgust.

"The big man from Brecon is a big character. Too big in this case. Somewhere near Junction 33 Powell crossed the line from likeability to liability. The image of him chugging alongside the motorway is comic. But the consequences could have been tragic. Rugby still needs its court jesters, a role Powell fulfilled brilliantly on the 2009 Lions Tour. Yet is there is a more serious subtext to Powell’s clown persona? Coaches have commented on his lack of confidence and need for an arm around the shoulder."

Cardiff Blues veteran Gareth Thomas made front page news last year when he revealed he was gay © Getty Images

Speaking to Brian Viner in The Independent, former Lions captain Gareth Thomas reflects on reactions he has received since announcing he is gay and explains why coming out would be much harder for a footballer.

"It is two months since Thomas came out. There had been occasional rumours, and even photographers staking out his house, but nobody ever turned the rumours into fact. Now that he has done so himself, he welcomes me cheerfully into his home in a village near Bridgend knowing that his sexuality is what we'll be talking about for the next hour or so. Oddly, I have been asked by a man called Emanuele, his friend and adviser – Thomas loathes the word "agent" – not to raise the reports that Thomas is on the verge of a move to rugby league. It's the first time in my interviewing career that a fellow's sexual orientation is wide open for discussion, while rugby league is firmly taboo.

He makes coffee and we sit down at a round breakfast table. The house, where he lived with Jemma, now the ex-wife he still adores, is not at all grand, but comfortable. There are rugby photos around the place, and I spot a copy of Barack Obama's book, Dreams of My Fathers. Has he read it? "No, I've just bought it." The "it" is pronounced the Bridgend way, without the T. "I've never been a big reader, but now I read a lot. I'm into books that challenge me, and..."

He starts to chuckle. "Obviously Barack Obama and myself are in no way comparable, but who'd have thought there would ever be a black president of America?" I complete the connection for him, and assure him that it is in no way fanciful: who, similarly, would ever have thought that a big, tough Lions and Wales ex-captain, thunderous wing, full-back and centre, would burst out of the closet? "Yeah, and what he must have gone through... I thought I could read it and in some fraction of a way, relate to it."

Wales' Jonathan Thomas was last night forced to apologise after posting a homophobic comment on the social networking website Twitter, just two months after his Wales team-mate Gareth Thomas became the first professional rugby player in Britain to reveal that he was gay. Chris Green and James Corrigan report in The Independent.

"Lock forward Jonathan Thomas, 27, who has 51 caps for Wales and is set to play in the second row against Scotland in the Six Nations in Cardiff on Saturday, wrote the offensive remarks during an exchange on Twitter yesterday morning with Ian Evans, one of his team-mates at the Welsh club Ospreys.

"Evans wrote: "Legs and ass are in bits, can't move." Thomas posted in reply: "U gotta stop hanging round with Nigel Owens!" [a top Welsh referee who came out in 2007]. Evans then made an apology of sorts on behalf of Thomas: "For those ppl [people] who got the wrong end of the stick... it was from our savage training day yesterday, sorry about my friend fellow ppl."

Stuart Barnes previews the massive Six Nations showdown between England and Wales in The Times.

"This is rugby tribalism at its very best and very worst. The sheer desire for the one country to put it over the other has always been an aspect of the Welsh attitude to this game, even when they were a class apart in the 1970s.

"For England, it is slightly different. Older minds will remember the ritual humiliations in Cardiff but the domination of Europe under Geoff Cooke and then the world under Clive Woodward changed the focus. Under Woodward in particular, Wales were downgraded as New Zealand, Australia and South Africa became the yardsticks.

"But all that has changed with England’s steady slide back into the ranks of world mediocrity. Suddenly the derby game matters massively after the prospect of winning titles disappeared. England have not won the title since 2003 - that was the Grand Slam winning World Cup team. During that era Wales couldn't get anywhere near the then world champions but over the past five years they have managed two Grand Slams, a dream beyond England’s imagination in recent times."

Martin Johnson's open selection could lead to problems against a street-wise Wales side, according to Eddie Butler in The Guardian.

"It appears the caution imposed in November by an injury list the length of the Pennines has given way to an invitation to play. Perhaps, however, Martin Johnson does not do invites – this could well be an order to his England team to deliver, starting against Wales.

"Throughout the ages there have never been too many question marks over the amount of possession provided by England packs. Some, notably the ones containing Johnson as a second-row, provided more than others, but this pack looks capable of maintaining a healthy supply.

"It may not be the most elastic in the air – Simon Shaw is more a reinforced girder – and the front row will give away experience against the Lions trio of Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees and Adam Jones, but primary possession will not be a problem."

Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards proves to be an intense interview subject for The Times' Paul Kimmage.

"He is in the Wales team hotel in the Vale of Glamorgan having his portrait taken. The photographer, Richard Stanton, has seated him in a black leather chair and is trying to cajole him: “Move this way, please, Shaun . . . Look here . . . Lean forward . . . hand under your chin.” He complies but does not speak. Five minutes pass. The atmosphere is intense.

"Stanton is pulling rabbits out of hats trying to lighten the mood. “What about a smile, Shaun?” “That’s not really me.” “Well, perhaps just a little more relaxed. Maybe a happy look?” “Not right now.”

"He jumps up and says he needs to use the toilet. Stanton wonders if he will see him again but he returns a few minutes later and the shoot resumes; same pose, same atmosphere. “Perhaps, just for this last pose, you can offer a grin?” Stanton pleads. No reply. “Just a little smile?” “It wouldn’t be right,” he says."

Ospreys prop Adam Jones is set to anchor the Wales pack in this year's Six Nations © Getty Images

Larger-than-life Wales prop Adam Jones explains to The Independent's Brian Viner why he's not too big to cry, why he bears no grudge against Bakkies Botha for ending his Lions tour, and why Wales will be just fine in the Six Nations without Gavin Henson.

"The bloody big lump is sitting opposite me in the bar of the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel, where the Wales training camp is based. In truth, he used to be a much bigger lump, weighing in at 23 stone when he was still in his teens. At 28 he's now a sylph-like 19 stone, but that doesn't make him easier to shift. Under the gimlet eye of a former front-row forward in Warren Gatland, he has shed weight and gained fitness. Where once he struggled to last more than an hour, now he can truck around all day.

"Moreover, the received wisdom in rugby union these days is that a really good tight-head prop, as the anchor of the scrum, is more covetable even than a top fly-half, not least because he belongs to a much rarer species. Jones, I venture, could probably name his price if a swanky French club came calling? He snorts. "I haven't had an offer. One day maybe."

Ospreys scrum-half Mike Phillips has opened new contract talks with the Ospreys after becoming the most wanted man in world rugby. Andy Howell writes in the Western Mail.

"We can reveal today that Leicester Tigers, Saracens, Toulouse, Stade Francais, Racing-Metro 92 and Toulon are among the big-money clubs ready to lure the Wales and Lions sensation away from the Liberty Stadium. The 27-year-old scrum-half’s current deal with Wales’ flagship outfit does not run out until the end of next season, but powerbrokers at the Ospreys are ready to flash the cash to ensure he remains.

Phillips’ sensational performances for the Lions in South Africa last summer have ensured he rivals his Ospreys team-mate James Hook as one of rugby’s hottest properties, with clubs in England and France queuing up for his signature. It is a testament to the status of the ambitious region in world rugby circles and the quality of their playing assets that some of Europe’s biggest clubs circle in anticipation when their big names are approaching the end of their contracts."

David Hands dissects Wales coach Warren Gatland's Six Nations selection in The Times.

"England may be the largest blip on Warren Gatland's radar but the Wales coach has not been afraid to look well beyond that. His squad for the RBS Six Nations Championship offers a development role as well as players expected to propel Wales to a third successive win over England at Twickenham on February 6.

"Gatland acknowledges concerns at scrum half and wing, where the twinkle-toed Shane Williams grows no younger. Hence the arrival of two teenagers, Kristian Phillips and Tom Prydie, in the squad though in the latter's case it is hardly a like-for-like replacement. Where Williams is a mere 5ft 7in, the 17-year-old Prydie stands 6ft 4in and must still be growing.

"The chances of either youngster (Phillips is 19) playing in the Six Nations is slim but when Wales visit the southern hemisphere in the summer, they will be without another wing, Leigh Halfpenny, who will need clearance work done on a shoulder. So there are opportunities arising over the next few months, the results of which can be digested well before the 2011 World Cup."

Welsh rugby legend Gareth Thomas has revealed he is looking forward to finding love now his sexuality is in the open. The South Wales Echo reports.

"Alfie said he had been overjoyed by the positive reaction to his decision to come out of the closet last month. He said: “It’s like waking up on Christmas Day, walking down the stairs and seeing Father Christmas and seeing he actually does exist.”

"Among the messages of support came one from Welsh Rugby Union chief Roger Lewis, who sent him a text that read, “the world is yours now, you are really brave” on the day that he came out. Even his parents, Yvonne and Barry, had “such a sense of relief”, the player said."

David Flatman, writing in The Independent on Sunday, struggles to come to terms with the continued absence of Gavin Henson from the game.

"Lots of famous athletes claim as often as we will listen that they hate the limelight, but I rarely believe them. The medium that delivers this information undermines the message. In order to give an answer one has to have been asked a question and in order to be asked a question one must, unless phone-tapping and high-level subterfuge has infiltrated rugby, be in an interview.

"If I didn't want to do interviews, I wouldn't. How often do you read candid, personal interviews with 69-times capped, World Cup-winning, double British and Irish Lion Danny Grewcock OBE? It happens, but probably only once every few years, when he can fob off our press officer no more. This is the behaviour of a man who actually doesn't like the attention. Justin Harrison, the former Australia and Bath lock, loved an interview. He was intelligent, hugely articulate and always had something to say. But best of all, he never denied enjoying his time with the media.

"Sometimes, of course, there are those who do not want to be the focus of everyone's attention but, for some reason, seem irresistible to the men with the pens. Gavin Henson might fall into this category. His almost unnatural levels of ability coupled with his over-manicured, somewhat out-of-context appearance made him a sporting enigma overnight. Not many players deliver match-winning performances on the international stage yet find their girlfriend or hair or tan becoming the headline."

Hugh Godwin talks to Ospreys and Wales fly-half Dan Biggar ahead of the latest round of Heineken Cup action and the Six Nations in The Independent.

"The telephone handset was returned to its cradle – the M4 was snowbound, you see, or the interview would have been in Swansea in person – and immediately there came the slapped-head moment. "Curses! Forgot to ask him about Gavin Henson." But the redial button went unpressed. Dan Biggar had said and given enough. In an imaginary edition of A Question of Sport, Henson would be the mystery personality or even occupy the archive round. Biggar belongs to the much more exciting category of "what happens next?".

"So here's a starter for the Ospreys No 10, the 20-year-old successor to Henson for his region and a potential match-winner for Wales. Where does Biggar see himself in Wales' fly-half pecking order? "I've succeeded with my plan to oust James [Hook] as fly-half for the Ospreys," he replied, "by quietly going about my business. As for Wales, there was no doubt Stephen Jones was the No 1 fly-half going into the autumn. I feel I'm doing as well as I can to push Steve for that role, and that was my aim at the start of the season. I would love to be included in the Six Nations squad."

"The squad is likely to be announced the week after next, in between rounds five and six of the Heineken Cup, in which Biggar and the Ospreys have make-or-break matches away to Clermont Auvergne and at home to Leicester. The sometimes frustrating but always headline-making region appear to have clicked under new coach Scott Johnson and with former All Black flanker Jerry Collins minding the youthful Biggar, with five wins on the hoof – or should that be talon? – Wales' perennially super-charged meeting with England, which is at Twickenham on the first Saturday in February, can wait just for now."

John Westerby meets Sale's farmer-in-residence, Wales prop Eifion Roberts, in The Times.

"Eifion Roberts has come a long way in a short time and there are occasions when his two worlds collide. When his rugby commitments permit, the Sale Sharks prop still likes to return to the family farm on the outskirts of Ruthin, North Wales, but it can often be a frustrating experience.

“I try to help out, but I can’t do as much as I’d like,” he said. “I’ve got to be careful with things like handling the cows, in case I get kicked or anything like that. It’s safer if I stick to the tractor work now.”

"At the end of a testing year for rugby union, tainted by Bloodgate and drug scandals, the best that can be hoped is that the sport stays true to its inclusive mission statement: that it remains a game for all shapes and sizes. In the professional ranks, there is no better example of this creed than Roberts, 28, who has been transformed from an overweight farmer playing amateur rugby into one of the best props in the Guinness Premiership and a folk hero with the Sale crowd. In November last year, he won his first Wales cap against Canada."

Jamie Roberts tells The Independent's James Corrigan about overcoming injury to be named outstanding player of the Lions tour and Wales' best-looking man.

"It is fair to say that as the midnight chimes hurtled us into the new year of 2009, Roberts had reached the bottom point of the Big Dipper. A month before, he had fractured his skull at the beginning of the Test against Australia and, after famously carrying on for 10 minutes, he eventually obeyed the warning jolts flashing around his cranium. It meant a spell on the sidelines and the doubts inevitably surfaced. "Of course they did," he recalls. "They do any time you have an injury. And a fractured skull does sound quite scary. But I just had faith in my doctors and in the end I was only out six weeks."

"It doubtless helped that Roberts is studying to become a doctor and knows a thing or two about the body's recovery powers. Those rugby-loving folk at the University of Wales have allowed their most popular student to split his fourth year over two years. That still means afternoons and evenings crouched over the books while his team-mates are flat out on the sofa, but Roberts would not have it any other way. "Yeah, I get tired a lot," he says. "But I actually think it's beneficial. It helps me turn off and gives me some balance."

Simon Barnes evaluates Gareth Thomas' admission that he is gay against the backdrop of the wider world of sport in The Times.

"Sport certainly takes its time about things. At least, when it comes to sexuality. We live in a world in which endless conundrums and variations of sexual behaviour are forever in front of us, in a thousand different areas of public life. It’s only when it comes to sport that things get all difficult and old-fashioned.

"You can be a gay MP, or a gay vicar. You can be quietly or flamboyantly gay, according to choice, and still present television programmes. You can be a living national treasure and your status is not even remotely compromised by your sexuality.

"We live in a time when civil partnerships between same-sex couples are not only sanctioned by law, they raise few eyebrows when they take place. Just the usual sort of rejoicing. What was illegal half a century ago is now not only legal: it is no big deal.

"Except in sport. That is why it is both right and necessary to praise the courage of Gareth Thomas, the most capped player in the history of Welsh rugby, who has chosen to come out. It is not his courage that is troubling: it is the fact that courage was necessary."

David Walsh hails Gareth Thomas for providing a watershed moment in sport in The Sunday Times.

"When you are the most-capped player in the history of Welsh rugby, and you have been known always as a tough guy, a bloke’s bloke, it is not easy to then say: “Actually, I'm gay.” Publicly, rugby players have never been gay and Gareth Thomas has now done the game and the greater community a service in truthfully telling his story.

"It is at once sad and life-affirming. There is sadness in what he and his ex-wife Jemma have been through but there is much to admire in the way Thomas eventually dealt with the reality of his sexuality. It is also heartening that he feels he can now speak publicly without making his life as a rugby player any harder.

"Thomas knew he was gay from the age of 16 or 17 but as he says, knowing something and accepting it are different things. There are many reasons why teenagers struggle to deal with their homosexuality and for Thomas, rugby was one of the factors. “I could never accept it because I knew I would never be accepted as a gay man and still achieve what I wanted to achieve in the game.”

Eddie Butler runs a rule over the recent tribulations in the career of Welsh legend Gareth Thomas after he admitted that he is gay in The Observer.

"Since Gareth "Alfie" Thomas is the first international rugby union player to come out and say that he is gay, there is no protocol either to break or to follow. There was a familiar pattern: the years of torment and the deception, with particular regard to his wife, Jemma, and now the relief.

"But no system exists, based on past experience, to help him through his private struggle and his public sporting career. That might imply that rugby, a bit like the military, refuses to acknowledge homosexuality in its ranks. We don't offer help because there is no problem to solve.

"Or it suggests that for all its promotion of itself as the territory of the alpha male, rugby is surprisingly grown up in its inclusiveness. Nigel Owens, the top referee, is gay. Big deal. Alfie is gay. So what?"

	Gareth Thomas celebrates winning the Heineken Cup with Toulouse in 2005 © Getty Images

"'Just because you are gay, doesn't mean you fancy every man who walks the planet,' he says. I don't want to be known as a gay rugby player. I am a rugby player first and foremost. I am a man.

'I just happen to be gay. It's irrelevant. What I choose to do when I close the door at home has nothing to do with what I have achieved in rugby. IIt's pretty tough for me being the only international rugby player prepared to break the taboo.
'Statistically I can't be the only one, but I'm not aware of any other gay player still in the game.

'I'd love for it, in ten years' time, not to even be an issue in sport, and for people to say: "So what?" '

John Westerby catches up with former Wales prop Chris Horsman as he begins his career as a referee in The Times.

"I’m absolutely loving it as a referee. It can get a bit lonely at half-time when you’re standing by yourself and you see the players getting together in a group. But it’s a very rewarding experience.”

"With that description of his new life officiating in the lower levels of club rugby, where he does not even have touch judges for company, perhaps Chris Horsman has summed up why so few professional players in team sports go on to become referees.

"The 32-year-old former Worcester Warriors and Wales prop, who was forced to retire in the summer because of injury, has chosen to follow a path that is seldom travelled in rugby, and indeed in any sport. Last Saturday afternoon, while his former Worcester team-mates were holding London Irish to a draw at the Madejski Stadium, Horsman was refereeing the game in Bristol between Gordano and Nailsea & Backwell in Somerset League One, level nine in the national pyramid.

“I really don’t understand why more players don’t take it up,” he said. “You hear of players going off the rails when they finish playing professionally and this is a great way to keep in touch with the game. Maybe there’s the viewpoint [among players] that refereeing is something you do if you’re not good enough to play. But I still get the buzz before a game when I’m getting changed and warming up, and there’s still the camaraderie after the game. It fills the gap.”

Writing in the Wales on Sunday, Barry John heaps more praise on Welsh wing wizard Shane Williams.

"What more can we say about Shane Williams? Already our leading scorer in the try stakes, he raced over for two more individualistic efforts yesterday to turn the course of this game and prove yet again what a superb match-winner he is.

"In doing so, Shane became the first Welshman in history to reach the 50-try tally at international level. That is a fantastic achievement and puts into perspective just what a special player we have been watching over the past six years or so."