“Gareth is fine, but Josh can’t play – he’s out. Gareth’s good to go and it’s good to have his voice,” said Wales scrum consultant, Jones.
“He came in as if he hadn’t been away. It’s been good to have him leading it.
“The boys came back in on Monday and everyone is in good spirits. Of course, we’d have liked the full week with everyone together in the fallow week, but it is what it is.
“That’s how it pans out, but we had a good training session yesterday. There was a bit more detail today and it’s just a case of us getting a little more clarity in the plan for Scotland.
“It was certainly a bit of a shock when Warren (Gatland) and Rob (Howley) left. Matt (Sherratt) is a different personality – he’s quite jovial, likes to take the mick out of players and out of himself and he has a good way about him.
“His track record as an attack coach has been excellent and the boys have bought into how he wants to play. Most players want to play and certainly the Welsh boys do.
“To push Ireland like we did was wonderful, but we didn’t get across the line. If the try had stood, it might have been different.
“It’s easy to get up for Ireland in Cardiff, but it’s backing it up in Scotland now that matters.
“Now it’s just about getting our game on the park against Scotland, which isn’t easy because they’re a pretty good side.”
Jones enjoyed a great record against the Scots when he was packing down in the Welsh front row. He won nine out of his 10 Six Nations games against the Scots between 2004-14, but knows the task facing the team he is helping to coach this weekend will be as tough, if not tougher, than faced by any Welsh team at Murrayfield.
“There’s no pressure on us, all the pressure is on the Scots. This is probably one of the best sides they’ve ever had, if not the best side, and they’ll be expecting to beat us pretty comfortably at home,” added Jones.
“We showed we can go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the world against Ireland. We rattled them a bit, and even though we didn’t get across the line we’ll keep building on that with the confidence we gained
“There’s no point going up there and being in awe of them. They’ve got a good side with some standout players, but you’ve just got to rip into them as much as you can.
“There’s the feel-good factor and we’re not going to go up there daunted. We want to get the monkey off our back and we’re going up there to win – not to make up the numbers.”
