While England reported for Six Nations duty in an ambulance Wales arrived at their base in the Vale of Glamorgan ready for the worst Warren Gatland, the head coach, could throw at them in training.
The only likely starter against England in Cardiff a week on Friday who is not fully fit is the tighthead prop Samson Lee, who has not played since the beginning of the month when he suffered a neck injury but is expected to be fit to train this week.
If Wales had the same injury problems as England they would find themselves stretched and they do not expect the loss of so many players for the start of the Six Nations to have an adverse impact on opponents they will meet in the World Cup later in the year.
“They have got a lot of strength in depth so whatever England side turns up will give a good account of itself,” said Dan Lydiate, the Ospreys and Lions flanker. “They have got quality throughout their squad and injuries are part of the game today: we have gone through stages where we have picked up a number of them and you have to get on with it.
“It’s a massive game in what promises to be the tightest Six Nations I have been involved in. We have to get our preparations right and build up in a good way. The first matches are always important in the Six Nations but there is no bigger way to start than with England. Everyone is ready to get cracking and I am sure the coaches will put us through the mill, as they always do. No one is guaranteed his place in the side and that is where you want to be as a squad.”
Lydiate is back in Wales after an unsuccessful stint with Racing Métro. He signed for Ospreys on a dual contract at the end of last year and the player of the 2012 Six Nations has been working on his game, to make a flanker renowned for his tackling a more rounded forward. “I had to play left and right rather than blindside in France and the dynamic of the game there was different,” he said.
“Playing there was a good experience and I hope it has made me better. It’s about knowing what sort of player you are and why you get picked for what you do. It’s not about going away from my strengths but you have to evolve and I want to get my hands on the ball a bit more.”
Lydiate expects the conversation this week to turn to the England hooker Dylan Hartley, who is reported to be seeing a sports psychologist after a series of cards and bans. “You always look for chinks in the armour of opponents and this game will be no different,” said the flanker when asked if they would be goading a player who was sent to the sin-bin on Saturday in his second match back from a suspension. “We haven’t talked specifics. We will concentrate on ourselves at the moment but, when the match approaches we will sort out our game plan.”
