Wales guard against Barker

The ink was scarcely dry on his team selection before the Wales coach, Steve Hansen, changed the line-up for today's game against Canada at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

This one, though , was more to do with being out of favour than out of form. Dafydd James the Bridgend centre has been withdrawn from the replacements' bench after breaking a squad curfew on Thursday night. The 27-year-old has been disciplined by the Wales management and will serve a one-match ban. His place has gone to Nick Walne of Cardiff.

The rest of the gang is hardly likely to be affected by James' banishment. Hansen is only too aware that all minds are as much on next Saturday's match against New Zealand as they are on this one. Not that Canada can be dismissed lightly.

Just nine years ago a far more raw Canada XV silenced the Principality with an unlikely victory in Cardiff, and in those days they did not have their phenomenal points machine Jared Barker.

He scored with 34 consecutive kicks at goal in the World Cup qualifying tournament, helping to ensure that Canada reached the finals in Australia next year, where they will be in the same group as Wales and New Zealand. So today's encounter could give the winning side a crucial psychological edge come next autumn, and the Canada coach, David Clark, warned: "You can expect some missiles from the boot of Barker, although we are going to play an expansive game."

They would have been even more confident were they not without two key forwards, Al Charron and Dan Baugh. The former has returned home following the death of his father, the latter finds himself the victim in an insurance wrangle.

Baugh's policy only covers him to play for Cardiff, so if he were he to suffer an injury in a Test match for his coutnry and be forced out of action then cash-strapped Canada would have to shell out for his wages.

Wales, however, can still expect a tough Test from opponents who will be strong in the set pieces, the line-out and who do have some power and pace out wide.

Hansen is concerned that the All Blacks match will distract his charges from the stated aim, to establish their own style and focus on improving with every Test as they run up to the World Cup. Today represents the first awkward step in the rest of that build-up.

WALES: R Williams(Cardiff); M Jones (Llanelli), J Robinson (Cardiff), S Parker(Pontypridd), G Thomas(Bridgend); S Jones (Llanelli), D Peel (Llanelli); I Thomas (Llanelli), R McBryde(Llanelli), B Evans(Swansea), V Cooper(Llanelli), G Llewellyn(Neath), D Jones(Llanelli), C Charvis(Swansea, capt), M Williams(Cardiff). Replacements: M Davies (Pontypridd), G Jenkins(Pontypridd), M Owen(Pontypridd), S Quinnell (Llanelli), R Powell(Cardiff), I Harris(Cardiff), D James (Bridgend).

CANADA: W Stanley; S Fauth, N Witkowski, J Cannon, F Asselin; J Barker; M Williams; R Snow, Dunkley (capt), J Theil, J Tait, M James, R Banks, A van Staveren, P Murphy. Replacements: M Lawson, K Tkachuk, J Cudmore, L Carlson, E Fairhurst, B Ross, M di Girolamo.