10:26am Tuesday 16th March 2010
By Iwan Davies
COACH Warren Gatland has vowed to put his players through the mill in training this week as Wales look to save face against Italy on Saturday.
Star Lions, scrum-half Mike Phillips and prop Gethin Jenkins, are both set to return to action with Gatland saying changes will be made for the Azzurri.
Captain Ryan Jones, who missed the humiliating Irish defeat on the weekend, is also available, the team being announced today.
But there is a slight concern over Newport Gwent Dragons lock Luke Charteris who suffered a stinger injury to his shoulder in the 27-12 loss to Ireland.
“There will be a few changes,” said Gatland, who seems set on playing it safe because he added: “We need to make sure we finish this campaign on a real high”.
Wales’ plight on Saturday wasn’t helped by the poor and inconsistent refereeing of Craig Joubert, but Gatland refused to blame the South African official in any way for the defeat.
For Gatland, the only ones to blame for the debacle are the players and he said they will pay for it this week.
“The time has come,” Gatland said ominously. “The players will be going through some pain in training they haven’t experienced before.”
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