HERE we go again with another blast at Gareth Jenkins - but the Wales coach does leave himself wide open.

After his astonishing outburst against the Press last week and his perception of an agenda against him, he's now apparently far more relaxed back at the Welsh squad's training base near La Baule.

But the heat will be back on within days as attention focuses on his team selection for the winner-takes-all final Group B clash against Fiji on Saturday on their return to Nantes.

The signs are pointing to yet more controversy which seems to go hand in hand with Jenkins.

That stubborn streak looks like surfacing again, and there could well be uproar if, as seems likely, he omits Mike Phillips and James Hook from the starting line-up.

Phillips turned in a man-of-the-match performance against Japan last Thursday and his all-action, aggressive intent looks to be just the ticket if Wales are to avoid being ambushed by the Fijians and Nantes being turned into a wake rather than a city of celebration come Saturday night.

Phillips himself was not exactly backwards in coming forward at interviews following the Japan match, clearly believing he should be in the team from the off.

But I sensed the signs even as the team were departing from their Nantes base when an insider warned not to put too much emphasis on the Japan game.

That's fair enough, but so is the fact that Dwayne Peel has been disappointing in the World Cup, not his usual sharp self, his judgement faltering and even having kicks charged down.

Even Gareth Edwards, the greatest of them all, says he would start with Phillips against the Fijians with his confrontational approach which would not prove to their liking.

But, as ever, Jenkins ploughs on regardless - and then when he is wrong is aghast that he could be so much as doubted never mind criticised.

But Jenkins has his favourites and it's fair to say Peel is one of them, while he seems hell-bent on picking a big, aggressive player at inside centre.

It also looks as though Jenkins wants either his captain Gareth Thomas or Sonny Parker at inside centre when the situation cries out for the flair and the creativity of James Hook.

He showed a lovely touch in setting up a try when he went on in the second half against Australia and then scored a glorious try against the Japanese.

A place should surely be found for him somewhere in the side and given that Jones appears to have cemented the outside half slot again, then it should be at inside centre. But don't bank on it.

Failure simply isn't an option against Fiji, even if they ran Wales so close, going down just 11-10 at the Millennium Stadium in their last meeting nearly two years ago.

And they have clearly targeted Wales this time, choosing to rest many of their leading players in the game against Australia.

So it's going to be tight again, but Wales simply have to come through or Jenkins will face renewed hostility when he returns.

His words of: "Judge me on the World Cup" will come back to haunt him then, and the Welsh Rugby Union will take a close interest in his future.

Chief executive Roger Lewis came across at a specially arranged off-the-record media get-together in Cardiff last week that he is pretty driven and highly focused, so the sparks could well fly if Wales do go down this week.

The World Cup is proving a runaway success when it is played in the host country of France, the crowds proving the point.

Argentina against Namibia in Marseille at the weekend drew 55,000, Italy against Portugal 40,000 at the Parc des Princes, Australia against Fiji in Montpellier 28,000, South Africa against Tonga 39,000.

The attendances have been terrific, the atmosphere marvellous, the weather glorious and many of the matches great spectacles, like the Tonga-South Africa supercharged affair.

Never again should the tournament be split between countries. A host country is a host country, and that should be it.