Welsh bonus

Sure, Wales will be without Ryan Jones, Tom Shanklin, Brent Cockbain, Chris Horsman (discovered only yesterday) and Gavin Henson - even if his appeal against a 10 weeks plus two days ban does partially succeed, as it ought to, in Dublin today.

But at least Welsh players will have a clear fortnight to prepare, for under the terms of the accord signed between the Welsh Rugby Union and the regions there is a limit to the number of games leading players can play.

That means the Celtic League programme on the the final weekend of this month will go ahead without the front line internationals because they will be pulled. The same will apply to Ireland.

But just look at what faces England that same weekend. Two Premiership clashes means third placed Leicester take on leaders Sale and Bath face second placed Wasps.

They are two enormous clashes with top teams probably knocking lumps out of one another in high intensity games involving around 20 players who will be directly concerned with the Six Nations Championship opener against Wales the week after.

The Sale-Leicester game will feature Charlie Hodgson, Mark Cueto, Andrew Sheridan, Chris Jones, Martin Corry, Harry Ellis, Ollie Smith, Julian White and Ben Kay while Bath against Wasps will involve Danny Grewcock, Steve Borthwick, Olly Barkley, Mark van Gisbergen, Josh Lewsey, Tom Voyce, Stuart Abbot, Matt Dawson, Simon Shaw and Joe Worsley.

What a mouthwatering couple of games they will be, good for the fans and the TV audience, but not exactly what England coach Andy Robinson will be dreaming about. He's more likely to have nightmares about the situation.

Injuries are pretty much guaranteed from two physical encounters, never mind what effect they will have on players as they initially recover and then try to prepare for the Wales game, all in the space of a week.

The situation in England has led to a mighty showdown between the RFU and the clubs over the release of players, with the Union trying to secure their release and the clubs having none of it.

Talks are ongoing with hopes of a resolution, but if it can't be sorted Wales will have a distinct advantage. Indeed, former England coach Clive Woodward declared that one of the reasons for Wales' Grand Slam triumph last season was the ready availability of their leading players, and the lack of a similar situation in England contributed to his decision to quit.

The ability to prepare properly and to take rest periods was one of the main reasons behind the decision of Stephen Jones to return to Wales after a two-year sojourn in France.

There was the worry that the demands of the French League system - which is paramount over there - wouldn't just lead to burn-out but would seriously undermine Jones' preparations for the World Cup.

Wales have warm-up games in the summer of 2007 and there would have been question marks over Jones' availability for those and for training periods.

That encouraged Jones to seek a return to Wales where the national interests take precedence. But for all that, the signs pointed to him signing a deal with Cardiff Blues not returning to Llanelli Scarlets.

It appears he had verbally agreed to move to Cardiff, where he has a home, and the Scarlets were more or less resigned to it.

But they redoubled their efforts financially, and the decision of half back partner Dwayne Peel plus a player like Barry Davies to re-sign as well as the obvious lure of his 'home' ground of Stradey Park now and the prospect of a new stadium in 18 months time all proved too much of a temptation.

So it's a return to Llanelli for Jones this summer, and it now looks as though Mattew Watkins will re-sign as well given the team the Scarlets are putting together and their future prospects.

If only there were similar goings-on at Rodney Parade with Newport Gwent Dragons.

But after months of gloom it just may be that things will start to happen before long, though perhaps not quite on the grand scale some are expecting.