Bowring wields axe after defeat

Wales have reacted to their heaviest defeat against England last month by making nine changes for Saturday's international against Scotland at Wembley, the biggest shake-up in the 27-month reign of the coach Kevin Bowring.

Three of the changes are positional: Gareth Thomas switches wings, Neil Jenkins is restored to his favoured out-half berth after being exposed at full-back at Twickenham, while the flanker Colin Charvis moves to number eight, a position he has occupied only twice for his club, Swansea.

Six players are reintroduced: the full-back Kevin Morgan; the wing Wayne Proctor, who came off the bench at Twickenham and who is chosen because Ieuan Evans has an eye injury; the hooker Garin Jenkins; the second-row Andy Moore; and the wing forwards Rob Appleyard and Kingsley Jones.

Five of the six have been tried by Wales and discarded previously during Bowring's tenure, the exception being Moore who won the last of his two caps against Fiji in 1995 before he suffered a leg injury which kept him out of action for nearly two years.

Wales seem to be going round in ever-decreasing circles in a desperate bid to find a winning formula, but Bowring insisted it was a case of choosing players in form.

'I have chosen a team I think will do the job against Scotland,' he said.

'We lacked shape in defence against Scotland and moving Neil to outside-half should rectify that. Andy Moore will give us strength at restarts, a failing in the game in Wales, and we have extra mobility in the back row.

'The presence of Garin Jenkins and Kingsley Jones, who will lead the pack, will augment Robert Howley's job as captain. They both have presence and leadership qualities, something we lacked against England.'

Bowring admitted that the magnitude of the Twickenham defeat had prompted a bout of self-inspection. 'I asked the players to look at themselves and I looked at myself. I was hurt by unhelpful comments which were made in the media but I have a contract until the end of the 1999 World Cup and I intend to see it out.'

The talk from within the Wales camp at the start of the year was about developing their new game, but that is now but a faint whisper: a victory, by any means, is what is required on Saturday to appease an antagonistic public and a critical media.

The selection of Garin Jenkins, the third hooker in the Wales pecking order until yesterday, and Kingsley Jones, who was dropped for the second time in his short international career after the heavy defeat by England in Cardiff 11 months ago, is pragmatic, an acknowledgement of popular opinion.

The effect is like that of a badly listing government which reacts to a series of by-election defeats ahead of a general election by producing a few sweeteners. Changes had to be made, but Wales have now returned to the revolving door selection policy which proved so unsuccessful throughout the 1980s.

As Howley remarked: 'The players owe Kevin one and it is time we repaid the faith he has shown in us.'

Wales

K Morgan (Pontypridd); W Proctor (Llanelli), A Bateman (Richmond), S Gibbs (Swansea), G Thomas (Cardiff); N Jenkins (Pontypridd), R Howley (Cardiff, capt); A Lewis (Cardiff), G Jenkins (Swansea), D Young (Cardiff), M Voyle (Llanelli), A Moore (Swansea), R Appleyard (Swansea), K Jones (Ebbw Vale), C Charvis (Swansea). Replacements: L Davies (Cardiff), A Thomas (Swansea), P John (Pontypridd), S Quinnell (Richmond), S Roy (Pontypridd), L Mustoe (Cardiff), J Humphreys (Cardiff).