Recent root-and-branch pruning of Welsh rugby has not yet allayed the fears of those who see red as the dragon continues to puff smoke instead of fire.

The slashing of international match fees and the abolition of the A team; the reconfiguration of the domestic game from nine clubs to five regions; last week's financial cameo where Lions and Welsh captain Colin Charvis had to be bailed out with local business sponsorship to secure his passage to the World Cup because the Welsh Rugby Union could not afford to fund him; and an organisation in debt to the tune of £73.8 million.

The quick-fix method of trying to rebuild such damaged property in the past has been to sack the coach, which has occasionally brought short-term delirium but solved little. This time it is Steve Hansen, with four wins from 19 games in charge and his pristine squad with six uncapped players, in the firing line. For now he is safe, if feeling the heat building.

"We've had our share of problems," he says. "We've tried to clean the blackboard and start again. That's what we've been doing, trying to put a foundation in place for the game and allow it to grow. Then whoever comes after me has the ability to grow there.

"There's certainly no pressure on me from the background issues. I know the job that I have to do and I'm a firm believer that reality is reality and that we haven't been good enough to win the games that we've played. Italy and Scotland were poor performances in the Six Nations. All the other matches were reasonably steady but we just weren't good enough to win."

Hansen now faces into Wales's 10th match after nine successive defeats. They are stacking up like statistical tombstones behind him. With the half dozen inexperienced players as well as Iestyn Harris, the convert from rugby league, places are up for grabs.

Hansen says that between 15 and 20 World Cup places are nailed down so long as the players keep performing. As with Irish coach Eddie O'Sullivan, performance has been the operative word during the week.

"Perhaps people lose sight of it when you say performance is more important than results. If you don't perform, you don't get the result. These matches (Wales have four) are a little different from the Six Nations. We want to see players perform in match conditions. We've chosen a side that clearly isn't our best team. But we need to establish where some of these young men are. Eddie has picked his best side so we've a true opposition to judge them on."

Harris has long been a source of resentment in Welsh rugby since he was selected after just a wet week in union and it was after Ireland beat Wales in 2002 that he was dropped. In his first match back, Harris has a point to prove that his conversion has evolved further along the union patch since he was cut loose by the then coach, Graham Henry.

"A lot of water has gone under the bridge," says Hansen. "I don't think he was anywhere near ready to play international rugby when he was first chosen. It's not for me to comment on it because I didn't choose him. I think he's a better player now, although he still isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination. It's a tough job changing over as even some of the Australians have found but he's certainly better equipped now than he was in that test in 2002."

The intention is that the starting 15 will largely test Ireland although the heat could determine decisions. For Hansen it's a shop window. "I'll give the starting 15 enough time to show that they should be coming to the World Cup," he says.

Prop Pieter de Villiers has been ruled out of France's World Cup warm-up games after dislocating his shoulder in a mountain bike crash yesterday.

France play Romania in Lens on August 22nd before two matches against England in Marseille on August 30th and Twickenham the following Saturday.