It is less than a year since Ryan Jones was the leading candidate to captain the British & Irish Lions in South Africa this summer after Wales's grand slam success, but his prospects of being given the armband receded yesterday when he was left out of the champions' side to face Italy in the Six Nations in Rome next week.
The Wales coach, Warren Gatland, who is part of the Lions management, reacted to the defeat in Paris last week by making 11 changes, one positional, for the trip to the Stadio Flaminio on 14 March. He said no players had been rested ahead of the potential title decider against Ireland in Cardiff the following week, although he admitted his selection would not have been as radical had the game against the Irish come first.
The 23-year old second-row, Alun Wyn Jones, will lead Wales for the first time, with Ryan Jones, who missed the opening game of Wales's campaign against Scotland because of injury, on the bench. Gavin Henson returns to the midfield for his first start since Wales claimed the grand slam against France nearly a year ago while James Hook, Dwayne Peel, Mark Jones, Jonathan Thomas and Huw Bennett are among 10 new faces.
Lee Byrne, Shane Williams, Jamie Roberts, who switches positions in the centre to accommodate Henson, Alun Wyn Jones and Andy Powell are the only survivors from Paris. "We are not being disrespectful to Italy, merely giving players an opportunity," said Gatland. "We were always going to mix things up for the Italy game, but we have gone a bit further than we originally intended because of the performance in France. I had a chat with Ryan and told him he would be on the bench: he had no problem with that. Alun Wyn is having a fantastic season and he is well respected by the players." Asked if Alun Wyn Jones would keep the captaincy ahead of Ryan Jones if he led his side to an impressive victory over Italy, Gatland replied: "Why not?
"We have had a thorough debrief this week and there are a few bruised egos. We contributed to our own downfall by making mistakes and trying to play rugby in the wrong areas. The two tries they scored came directly from our own multiple errors and we are taking the chance to gauge our strength in depth. We are not only looking to the short term but further ahead. The next World Cup is little more than two years away and a mistake I think Ireland made in the past was to be conservative in their approach and rarely make mistakes. It led to their downfall in the last two World Cups."
Wales have lost twice in Rome in previous championships, including two years ago. "I am surprised at how poorly Italy have fared this Six Nations," said Gatland. "The experimental law variations have taken big aspects of their game away, picking and going and driving mauls from lineouts, and they are looking for potency in their back line. They are competitive; last season we had a tight first half against them before pulling away after the interval and we are going to have to be direct again."
Alun Wyn Jones is Wales' youngest captain since Gareth Edwards led the side as a 19-year-old 41 years ago and the youngest forward to take charge since John Evans in 1934. "It was a big surprise and an even greater honour," he said. "I am used to responsibility as lineout captain and I have learned a lot from Ryan as a player and as a leader."
Meanwhile, Bath have moved to replace the England prop Matt Stevens, who left the club by mutual consent yesterday after receiving a two-year ban having tested positive for cocaine, with Newcastle's England Saxons prop, David Wilson. The 22-year old yesterday told the Falcons he would be leaving at the end of the season. Wasps will today announce that their England flanker, Tom Rees, has signed a new contract with the club. He is expected to take over the captaincy for the 2009-10 season.
