NO one is certain of their place in the Wales team, captain Sam Warburton has admitted after in-form Ryan Jones was dropped for Alun Wyn Jones.

And the skipper insists that healthy competition is a vital ingredient for his side who have the Triple Crown firmly in their sights after wins over Ireland and Scotland.

Lock Wyn Jones is recalled to the starting XV for Wales’ clash with England at Twickenham on Saturday for his first Test match since the World Cup.

He is back after recovering from a toe injury suffered in November, having played in a couple of games for the Ospreys, and Ryan Jones, who has excelled at second row in his absence, is on the bench after skippering Wales to their 27-13 victory over Scotland in Cardiff a fortnight ago.

Warburton comes back into the side after missing the Scotland game with a dead leg, new boy Aaron Shingler missing out all together after making his debut in that game.

The only other change from the starting line-up of the Scots victory is at hooker where Ken Owens makes his first international start because of the absences of Matthew Rees and Huw Bennett who both have calf injuries.

Flanker Warburton, 23, said the decision to drop Ryan Jones to the bench had raised some eyebrows within the camp.

“Ryan being left out of the starting line-up might have surprised a few players, because he was playing very well, to be fair to him,” the 25-times capped Warburton confessed.

“So I guess it will keep us on our toes, because no one’s place is guaranteed now. That’s good in terms of the culture that we want.”

Warburton added: “We don’t want players getting lethargic or complacent and thinking they are going to get picked.

“Even though Ryan’s being playing exceptionally well, it does send out a good message to the players.”

Warburton said the fierce rivalry between the players for places and the current strength in depth can only spur Wales on.

“It’s good. We have two packs in training and that allows you to do live scrummaging and line-outs against each other, which is a lot better than doing unopposed stuff,” the Cardiff Blues openside said.

“We’ve put ourselves under pressure over the past two days because we know the set-pieces are going to be pretty important against England. Having two packs is ideal to help us work on things we feel we need to.”

And he is optimistic he will be fit for Saturday’s clash after having to withdraw at the eleventh hour for the Scotland match.

Warburton did reveal however that he hasn’t been able to take contact on his dead leg.

“Even though we have had a two-week break leading up to the England game, it was still pretty slow the week after Scotland,” he said.

“I’ve been taking it quite slow – it’s been difficult.Monday was the first time I’ve run since the injury and I took part in a team unit session of scrums and line-outs.

“It’s been good, so fingers crossed it holds out for the rest of the week.”

And Warburton said he has plenty of confidence in hooker Owens who won just his second cap in the win over Scotland.

“We call him Cannonball Ken because of his ball-carrying capability,” he said.

“He has been great. There was one stat at the start of the season two years ago where he didn’t miss a lineout for about ten games. And he’s been hitting the mark beautifully in training in training as well.

“He’s also been scrummaging a lot. He’s great. Skill-wise, he’s got it all.”