Leonard not ready to rest on his record

Jason Leonard, who will lead England against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday to win his 104th cap, has no intention of retiring, even if he makes a fourth World Cup later this year.

Leonard - who will now be just seven caps behind world record holder Philippe Sella, of France, after leading the team out at Cardiff - will join a select group of players if he does win a place in the squad for what would be his fourth World Cup in Australia in October.

As he prepares to lead his country for only the second time, Leonard said: "I will definitely be playing after the Cup. I can't see any reason why I wouldn't be and I have no thoughts of retirement at all.

"I feel very good at the moment and I'm enjoying being part of the best-prepared England squad I've ever been involved with."

Leonard's only try for England came against Argentina in 1996 - the only other time he has captained the team. However, he's not advising punters to take a risk with their money on a repeat, adding: "I'm thinking about the team playing well, not about getting a try. Really, I'm not the man people rush out to put a tenner on to score the first try in a match." Wales team: R Williams; M Jones, M Taylor , S Parker, G Thomas; S Jones (capt), G Cooper; I Thomas, R McBryde, G Jenkins, R Sidoli, C Wyatt, C Charvis, M Williams, D Jones. Replacements: G Williams, A Jones, J Thomas, G Thomas, M Phillips, G Henson, T Shanklin.

Meanwhile, Trevor Leota, arguably the hardest tackler in world rugby, is being asked to turn his back on his London Wasps team-mates to help Samoa's World Cup challenge against England in October.

Leota, Wasps' fearsome hooker, has told Samoa he wants to stay out of their World Cup plans to help Wasps defend their Zurich Premiership title.

However, Samoa, in the same World Cup pool as England, are putting the hugely popular No2 under pressure to link up with the rest of the talented Islanders' squad.