Discipline vital in Henry's plan to topple England

By ANDREW BALDOCK

LONDON - The Wales coach, Graham Henry, has preached the need for his players to keep their discipline in Sunday's Six Nations' Championship opener against England.

With the England goalkicker Jonny Wilkinson currently averaging more than 14 points a Test and Matt Dawson's tap-penalty trademark proving a nightmare for opposition defences worldwide, Wales could easily contribute towards their own downfall.

They go into the Millennium Stadium match as underdogs, and Henry is determined that neither points nor territory should be handed to England on a plate.

"We have considered the discipline factor, it is something we always talk about," he said.

"Sides can get on a bit of a roll, and when you try to play catch-up rugby and prevent that roll, it can be a difficult thing to halt. Hopefully, that won't happen this weekend. Discipline is a major criteria of how Test matches are decided.

"When we had success against England at Wembley two years ago, I think that our discipline was better than the opposition's. Quite often, the losing side's discipline is not as good as the winning team's.

"Matt Dawson's quick penalties are there for everyone to see. We've talked about it in training and talked about it off the field, and I guess the biggest way of stopping that is by not giving penalties away."

Henry can only hope that there is no repeat of last weekend's Heineken Cup horror show when Cardiff and Swansea produced woefully indisciplined performances.

Between them, they allowed their opponents Gloucester and Leicester 17 penalty kicks at goal, of which 11 found the target. Cardiff and Swansea provide nine players in Henry's starting line-up this weekend.

With the Welsh supporters desperate to identify any weakness in England's imposing armoury, Henry today dismissed one possible area for debate – Martin Johnson's match fitness.

The England captain, cited and banned following a Tetley's Bitter Cup quarter-final between Leicester and Saracens last month, has not played since Boxing Day.

Johnson's five-week suspension does not expire until Saturday but England's manager, Clive Woodward, has stuck by his World Cup captain.

"Martin Johnson will be jumping out of his skin to play," Henry said. "He's just had the best holiday of his life.

Meanwhile, the Wales team, with the Llanelli fly-half Stephen Jones settling into his unaccustomed full-back role, went through its paces behind closed doors in Cardiff yesterday.

And Henry is confident that he has got his selection right, having plumped for experience and proven big-match players.

"A lot of time went into the process, and I believe that we have come up with a good selection," he added.

"I think in Wales, people are a little bit romantic at times in that they look for players with flair, who might not have the form.

"We've gone for the percentage selection – players who we know will produce it on the day."

- HERALD CORRESPONDENT