Hansen keeps faith with Williams, Thomas

Wales coach Steve Hansen has rewarded winger Shane Williams and flanker Jonathan Thomas for their deeds against New Zealand by…

Wales coach Steve Hansen has rewarded winger Shane Williams and flanker Jonathan Thomas for their deeds against New Zealand by retaining them for Sunday's World Cup quarter-final against England.

Hansen said the team selection had been the most difficult of his career "for all the right reasons".

"We have picked a team with a certain plan in mind, we will use all 22 players and fingers crossed it will work," he said.

Williams had been out in the cold for two years and was a late inclusion in the World Cup squad, but his try and irresistible running against the All Blacks in Sunday's 53-37 defeat convinced Hansen that he could not be left out.

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The same applied to 20-year-old Thomas, whose driving runs kept him in the team ahead of former captain Martyn Williams, who is on the bench. Stephen Jones, superb on Sunday, retains the flyhalf spot in an unchanged combination with Gareth Cooper with Ceri Sweeny and Dwayne Peel, the starters against Italy, both on the bench.

Gareth Thomas, a virtual fixture on the wing for eight years, gets a start at fullback, where he played with distinction after coming on early in the All Black game as a replacement while Iestyn Harris returns alongside Mark Taylor in the centres with Sonny Parker still struggling with a shoulder injury.

Hansen has also retained the front five from the All Black game, which means that veteran lock Gareth Llewellyn starts on the bench having been dropped from the 1999 quarter-final team after the pool stage. Hansen disagreed when it was suggested it had been a brave selection.

Wales- 15-Gareth Thomas; 14-Mark Jones, 13-Mark Taylor, 12-Iestyn Harris, 11-Shane Williams; 10-Stephen Jones, 9-Gareth Cooper; 8-Jonathan Thomas, 7-Colin Charvis (captain), 6-Dafydd Jones, 5-Robert Sidoli, 4-Brent Cockbain, 3-Adam Jones, 2-Robin McBryde, 1-Iestyn Thomas. Replacements: 16-Mefin Davies, 17-Gethin Jenkins, 18-Gareth Llewellyn, 19-Martyn Williams, 20-Dwayne Peel, 21-Ceri Sweeney, 22-Kevin Morgan.