Adams so desperate to return, says Jones
WALES coach Stephen Jones says Josh Adams is desperate to put the Welsh jersey back on after serving his two-game ban for breaching Covid protocols last month.
The winger attended a close family gathering on January 31, the day after the full Wales squad were released from camp ahead of their Six Nations opener with Ireland.
Upon returning to camp two days later, the breach was raised and Adams was ultimately banned for two matches.
Head coach Wayne Pivac subsequently said that Adams had “embarrassed himself” and the 25-year-old issued an apology.
Jones says that the Hendy product has been “excellent” in training and that his availability will create a real headache for selectors ahead of the England clash in Cardiff on Saturday.
“Excellent. He has been superb,” reported Jones last week.
“He has worked incredibly hard as you would expect from Josh, he is a great person.
“He has trained incredibly hard.
“He is desperate to put the Welsh jersey on, as is everybody in the group.
“He has been superb. “Top try scorer in the World Cup, which is superb credit to Josh. Competition for places is what we want.
“It’s healthy and as we challenge ourselves daily to improve, results are starting to come now and it’s great.
“Strength in depth is what we want.
“Selection headaches, whatever way you want to term it, that is exactly what we want as coaches.”
Adams faces a fight to regain his place in the side, with Louis Rees-zammit’s two-try display against Scotland cementing his place on the right wing.
George North and Liam Williams could also be contenders for wing berths against England, depending on Pivac’s thinking.
WALES star Daniel James admits he lost his way at Manchester United last season, but insists he’s now getting back to his best.
James continued his recent upturn in form with an impressive performance during the 3-1 win over Newcastle United on Sunday night, getting himself on the scoresheet just after the break before being substituted.
Having found himself on the end of stinging criticism at times during his stint at Old Trafford, the 23-year-old has responded by netting six goals in his last nine outings for club and country.
Speaking after the win, James told BT Sport: “People say I haven’t played so much recently, but I’ve just been working as hard as I can and doing everything I can when I do play.
“It was nice to get minutes Thursday and again today, so I’ve just got to keep working on that.”
Having made a blistering start to his United career following his move from Swansea City in the summer of 2019, James gradually fell out of favour under boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer amid a loss in form and confidence.
There were some suggestions that he could even be moved on in recent transfer windows, with long-term admirers Leeds United among those mentioned as potential suitors.
But James has always shown a willingness to stay and fight for his
place, and it seems his determination is starting to pay off.
“I think there was a moment last season when I perhaps wasn’t performing as well as I wanted to,” he added.
“I think this season, I’m just reflecting on that as much as I can, doing everything I can to reflect on my games and I’ve just been working on the training ground as hard as I can.
“I kind of lost my way a bit. I wasn’t playing the way I did at the start of last season, so I had to look at analysis and stuff like that.
“I had the right people around me to talk me through that. I’ve been working with the coaches on the training ground to try to get back to myself and I like to think that I’ve got there.”