RYAN Jones has been treated badly and should not have been made a scapegoat for Wales’ poor performance against Fiji, claims Michael Owen, who captained Wales to the Grand Slam in 2005.

Jones has been stripped of the captaincy and is unlikely to play against the All Blacks on Saturday since coach Warren Gatland informed the media after Friday night’s Fijian fiasco that Matthew Rees would lead the side against New Zealand.

The way it was handled has led to a storm of criticism from former Welsh players and captains, all claiming it should have been dealt with behind closed doors.

Owen, also a former Newport Gwent Dragons captain who led Wales six times, admitted, “I was quite shocked by it, there are better ways of doing it than that. I feel for Ryan, it’s not a nice way to be dealt with and if I was him I’d be feeling disappointed.

“I don’t agree that he should be made a scapegoat. If they didn’t want him to be captain they should have tried to protect him.

“It’s been the main talking point since the game, but you want to try to prevent that happening. They should have told him that he wasn’t playing very well, to step away from it and go away to get fully fit again and play for the Ospreys, then re-assess the situation.

“It seems to me that it was an immediate response when they should have just spoken to him privately. Now it’s a horrible situation for him to be in.

“It’s a collective thing anyway. Wales were very poor against Fiji, but you could pick the same team, play them again next week and they wouldn’t do that badly.

“Wales didn’t really turn up and they didn’t perform, they underestimated Fiji who were very physical and played excellently.

“Wales never attacked space, they just bashed into Fiji and were a bit one-dimensional. They said they wouldn’t play sevens rugby but they didn’t play to their strengths either.

“I know what goes in with the preparation and all that, but from a spectators’ point of view they were poor and very inhibited with their attacking.

“Now Ryan has been placed in a difficult position. But it happens to every captain.

“For the first three times I did it I was the best captain ever, especially when we won the Grand Slam, but for the next three I wasn’t quite the best. When you’re captain the focus is on you sharply, but Ryan didn’t play any worse that anyone else, it’s just that being captain you’re put under more scrutiny.

“I’m sure he’ll come back and be ready for the Six Nations, he’s probably the best candidate through his experience.”

Owen believes Gatland made the announcement in the way he did as a tactic as much as anything else.

“Warren has always been quite forthright and honest in his opinions and he uses the media to get a reaction from his players, I think that’s what he has done in this case,” he said.

“As a coach you are always looking for a bit of fear in a healthy way in your players, he’s trying to get a reaction from them.

“I have played in Welsh performances like that when we were beaten by England by 60 points before the World Cup and when we became the first Welsh team to lose against Italy in the Six Nations.

“It’s horrible, but it’s awfully hard to single out one person for criticism.”

l Michael Owen has started up his own website michaelowenrugby.com in which he gives his opinions on the game.