Shackles off for Shanks

Shanklin was used as a battering ram in the defeat to Italy last weekend, a job he admits he struggles with sometimes.

Yet following the midfield reshufffle caused by captain Stephen Jones’s broken wrist, the Cardiff Blues man is relishing the prospect of partnering inside centre Thomas as Wales aim to avoid the wooden spoon at the Millennium Stadium.

He said, “He will take the pressure off me a bit as he’s another big ball carrier in the centre. We can share the work and maybe I can stay a little bit wider where I can be more effective.

“Hopefully we can now have an advantage over the England midfield as we are bigger and heavier than them.”