Wales coach Warren Gatland named his team to face England on Thursday ahead of Saturday's Six Nations clash, unveiling his matchday 23 the day after a potential Welsh player strike for the fixture was averted.
In doing so, he ripped up much of the side which was defeated by Scotland at Murrayfield last time out, making nine changes to his starting XV.
Here's everything he had to say...
Question: Are you relieved the game is on?
Warren Gatland: "I haven't really thought of the emotions, I am just happy things have been sorted and we can finally focus on preparing for Saturday."
How has it affected the preparation?
"Guys were good this morning. We had a meeting with the players just to announce the team. We said it's an opportunity to draw a line in the sand and focus completely on preparing for Saturday."
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What are your thoughts on the 60-cap rule moving down to 25?
"I haven't really thought about that because it was only yesterday. My sole focus has been on Saturday, I am not trying to focus on too far ahead or what players it might affect."
What will Mason Grady bring among the nine changes?
"We have been impressed by him coming in. He's quick, he brings some physicality, he's still young. I asked him the other day what's your biggest work-on and he said being more vocal and talking.
"He's got some fantastic attributes in terms of what he can bring to the game. It's a great opportunity for him. Himself and Joe [Hawkins] have played together so it's a young midfield combination which is pretty exciting.
"We have brought some experience back with the squad and the changes we have made with the young faces alongside them."
Why have you opted to give Owen Williams a first start at fly-half ahead of Dan Biggar?
"We spoke about giving players an opportunity. It is probably one position at the moment where we are lacking some real experience and back-up to Dan. That's definitely a position in terms of the future that is important. We have somebody like Gareth Anscombe who will hopefully come back from injury but he has had a number of injuries over the last few years.
"Owen Williams has had some injuries as well but we have been pleased with the way he has been playing. He has missed some training with a bit of a back injury last week but he's 100% fit and available. It's a great chance for him. With that Ospreys combination, with Joe Hawkins having had a few games together, it is a chance for us to see where we are towards the end of the year."
What was behind the decision to go back to experience in the pack with the likes of Alun Wyn Jones, Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric?
"It is about some experience back in the pack around those youngsters. In fairness to those guys we made changes for the Scotland game and we have brought back the experience. They have been training the house down and deserve their spots with some youngsters around them who will benefit from their time in the game."
What are your thoughts on England and where they are at the minute?
"I see them as a little bit like us and going through a little bit of a rebuilding phase in terms of a new coaching set-up and things. Steve [Borthwick] is trying to find his feet in terms of the best way forward, moving [Owen] Farrell back to 10 and probably dispensed with the [Marcus] Smith/Farrell combination and gone for somebody a bit more robust in Ollie Lawrence in midfield who is carrying forward."
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Is there an element of having your backs to the wall in this one?
"It is not something we will be talking about. I don't think there is any lack of motivation, the history and passion between Wales and England and getting up for the game. I am confident the guys will be ready."
Did you choose to bring experience back because of the last week and how that unfolded?
"Some of those experienced players have been through a lot of big situations, Grand Slams, winning Six Nations and World Cup semi-finals. They've handled a huge amount of pressure. It has definitely been a challenging week with all that has been going on.
"One of the other things was five English players are involved in the 23. We had to make a call on that because if we didn't name the team on Tuesday or didn't notify their clubs they were involved, then they would have all had to go back to the English clubs on Tuesday. That was something we had to consider and debate.
"I was asked by the players not to name the team on Tuesday, and that was about as much as protecting them as well. If the game did get called off with naming a 23, then all of a sudden those 23 players are in the spotlight and almost being accused of calling the game off. I know what happens after that. You guys [the media] go around and ask them if they wanted the game to go ahead, and they potentially get isolated. So it was as much about protecting the players in the squad until we had confirmation that the game was going ahead."
Will you try to use these external factors as motivation?
"Not at the moment. Maybe tomorrow, maybe Saturday. These are circumstances that have been brought on by ourselves, and we can only take responsibility for those things ourselves.
"The focus needs to be purely on the next few days, training well, drawing a line in the sand with what has happened and then bringing out the passion, history and expectation that comes with an England-Wales fixture.
"We are probably a little bit in similar situations. For both of us, this game is absolutely massive. If we win on Saturday, and then we go away to Italy and France and we can finish the Six Nations on a real positive, and for them, a loss on Saturday and their last two games are France and Ireland, which are pretty challenging as well. It is definitely a huge game for both England and Wales."
How do you feel England will view Wales after the last week? Will they see them as easy picking?
"Oh, I hope it's easy pickings. I've got no idea. I'm not in the English camp. I'm not sure which way they'll be looking at it. To be perfectly honest, there's a lot of players in that squad we've had some pretty close rivalries with over the years.
"I'm sure a number of players will be talking about Wales and it's never an easy fixture. They've asked for the roof to be open so it's open. We'd have preferred for it to be closed so whether that dampens down the atmosphere a little, I'm not sure.
"The ironic thing is that when you look at the numbers, we've a better win record than when it's closed. I don't know if they have done their homework on that. I don't think, with a game like this, that you can try and create anything out of nothing.
"I might have said some things in the past that have backfired on me. There's no winding up the opposition because I think this game takes care of itself."
Speaking on Wednesday night, Ken Owens looked tired after the events of the last week. Is he up for Saturday?
"There's no doubt that this week has taken a bit of a toll on him in terms of being caught in the middle of things and discussions. He's done a fantastic job in terms of supporting and leading the players.
"I made a joke that he looked 10 years younger this morning. It was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. I'm sure, given his experience of a number of battles over the years, he'll be up for it."
What is the message to George North and Liam Williams after missing out on selection?
"The message to them is the same I gave to the squad on day one. We'll be looking at some of the players in this group who haven't had a lot of rugby. We need to expose young players but keep some experience around them. There's a lot of work for us to continue to do as a group to get better and the levels I know we can get to. We're not at those levels yet. There's potentially a little more pain to go through. But I'm confident we will come through the other side."
What's the situation with Will Rowlands in regards to the 25-cap rule and have you had any clarity on that?
"I didn't even know how many caps he was on. It's the first time I've been asked that question, so I've not thought about what the situation is with Will Rowlands. I've not asked the union or had any clarification on that."
Were you consulted on the number of caps that should make up the new 25-cap rule?
"I think I've explained on other occasions about when it was brought in, I was asked about it and I could see the benefits of helping the regions and benefiting them. I wanted 30, the regions wanted 70 and we ended up with 60. The players obviously wanted to take it completely out and the compromise is down to 25. But I wasn't consulted on that number at all."
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