Peter Jackson: James Hook plays the Invisible Man come hail or shine

James HookThe Invisible Man of the Six Nations could be seen down by the Mediterranean the other day, literally warming up for his club's fight to stay afloat.  Perpignan's struggle for Top 14 survival allowed James Hook to take temporary refuge from the flooded British winter and escape to the day job on the Catalan coast. There, in the warmth of spring sunshine, he went to work in the seaside resort of Canet-en-Roussillion preparing for last week's match at Montpellier.
Back home the storm raged on, one which had nothing to do with the deep depression over the Atlantic but the deeper one over the Six Nations' champions and the fall-out from what looked horribly like the surrendering of their title in Dublin last Saturday.
The full extent of the damage has become clearer along with the verdict on the inquest into what was the worst Welsh defeat in the Championship since they went to the same place eight years ago. At least then they had the excuse of having been plunged into some turmoil by Mike Ruddock's resignation as head coach.
Joe Schmidt suspected that Wales had contributed to their own downfall, 's perceptive head coach pointing out that his team gained from ‘a bit of a lack of match fitness with some of the Welsh boys'.
's decision to send and Gethin Jenkins back to the Blues for yesterday's Pro12 match against Glasgow amounted to a tacit admission that at least two of his pack lacked match fitness. But why wait to be wise after the event?
The signs were there before the match. Warburton's game-time over the previous nine weeks amounted to the last 15 minutes against .  Jenkins during the same period managed two truncated appearances for the Blues – one half against and barely half an hour against the .
The fact that Gatland could have kept Paul James at loosehead and Justin Tipuric on the openside of the back row made the risks all the harder to understand. No amount of bashing on the training ground can compare with the match fitness that comes from the real thing.
Adam Jones hadn't exactly been overworked but he had at least gone the full distance against Italy. As far as their tighthead is concerned, Wales will be far more concerned over the more serious issue of how the new laws of engagement are undermining his status as a national treasure.
Then there is the question of discipline, one which goes beyond Danny Lydiate giving away three of the first six penalties for basic technical offences.   How can the Welsh management justify one of their most senior players behaving like a hothead long before his team imploded.
Mike Phillips had to be taken aside by Wayne during the opening quarter. “Calm down,” the admirable English referee told him after awarding Wales a penalty.  “You can't be screaming at me.   You've got the penalty. Right?”
Phillips ended up, all too predictably, in the bin and then demeaned himself by getting involved in a slanging match with a Mr Niall Hogan who, I am reliably informed, is a singer in a boy band called One Direction.
None of that, of course, has anything to do with Hook.  In fact, nothing in the Welsh campaign hitherto has had anything remotely to do with Hook beyond their placing him on the bench and
leaving him there come hail or shine.
Martin Corry, for one, will know how he feels. No English player risked more splinters in his rear end but Corry's 33 bench selections have now been overtaken by Hook – 36 and counting.
Scott Williams' shoulder surgery and Jonathan Davies' continuing recovery from a chest injury may give Hook renewed hope of a start at centre against in on Friday night. The temptation to keep at outside centre and the recall of Ashley Beck suggests that Hook's role as The Invisible Man may result in another non-appearance.

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