Henry focuses on match

Wales coach Graham Henry reflected on the events of the last seven days yesterday and sighed: "It's been an interesting experience."

With just 24 hours to go to the crucial Six Nations international with Scotland at the Millennium Stadium, Henry briefly managed to talk about rugby.

He was keen to stress his respect for the visitors and his hopes for the new players in his starting line-up, but the scandals which have engulfed the Welsh camp this week were never far away.

Shane Howarth and Brett Sinkinson will not be part of the official party but will be "welcome guests" at the ground today, even though the row rumbles on over their Welsh ancestors.

"It has not been too bad," said Henry yesterday.

"I haven't committed suicide yet anyway.

"I'm not Welsh but I've been told this kind of thing happens all the time and it's part of the deal of being coach.

"There might be some truth in this. But the distractions have definitely been distracting to me, even though I'm trying to stay positive.

"Obviously, it's given the players something to talk about this week. But they've managed to stay focused on beating Scotland tomorrow."

Amid the turmoil, it has almost been overlooked that eight changes have been made from the side defeated 46-12 by England at Twickenham a fortnight ago.

While Neil Jenkins and Scott Quinnell are both out through injury, the stunning omission of Lions scrum-half Rob Howley has left most observers baffled.

The rift between player and coach sees Rupert Moon return to the national side for the first time in five seasons, partnering Llanelli team-mate Stephen Jones in a half-back combination never before tested at this level.

Full back Matt Cardey and Ebbw Vale flanker Nathan Budgett hardly have the most stable environment in which to make their debuts and defeat today, against a side who have lost on all three of their Six Nations outings, would leave Henry to consider his own future.

"There is a little bit of apprehension among the new guys but that can sometimes give you an edge," he said.

"I have watched what happened against England and basically it was a nightmare.

"We did well in the first half but we gave away 17 penalties in 17 minutes, with two yellow cards - and after that it just went from bad to worse.

"The biggest problem for us tomorrow will be organisation.

"We have worked hard during the week, but most of the guys have not played together before.

WALES: M Cardey (Llanelli); G Thomas (Cardiff), A Bateman (Northampton), M Taylor (Swansea), S Williams (Neath); S Jones (Llanelli), R Moon (Llanelli); P Rogers (Newport), G Jenkins (Swansea), D Young (Cardiff, capt), I Gough (Pontypridd), A Moore (Swansea), N Budgett (Ebbw Vale), C Charvis (Swansea), G Lewis (Pontypridd). Replacements: R McBryde (Llanelli), S John (Cardiff), A Popham (Newport), M Williams (Cardiff), R Smith (Ebbw Vale), J Strange (Ebbw Vale), D James (Llanelli).

SCOTLAND: C Paterson (Edinburgh); C Moir (Northampton), G Townsend (Brive), J Leslie (Newcastle, capt), G Metcalfe (Glasgow); D Hodge (Edinburgh), A Nicol (Glasgow); T Smith (Brive), S Brotherstone (Brive), M Stewart (Northampton), S Murray (Saracens), S Grimes (Newcastle), M Leslie (Edinburgh), B Pountney (Northampton), S Reid (Narbonne). Replacements: G Bulloch (Glasgow), D Hilton (Glasgow), D Weir (Newcastle), C Mather (Edinburgh), B Redpath (Narbonne), J McLaren (Bourgoin), A Bulloch (Glasgow).

Referee: David McHugh (Ireland).