One man's loss can be another man’s gain, but Popham knows he can take nothing for granted when it comes to Rugby World Cup selection. Wales are well blessed in the back row and, while Gareth Jenkins can hardly afford to lose a player of Jones’s calibre, he knows he has plenty of options to fill the gap.

“I’m gutted for Ryan because he is such a valuable player. Any team in the world would love to have him in their side,” said Popham.

“There is massive competition for places in the Welsh back row and everyone wants to be a part of the World Cup squad.

“We are all excited at the prospect of going to a World Cup at the moment, but realise that anything can happen along the way. You just have to look at what happened to Ryan to realise that.

“It’s no secret that I prefer to play at No.8, but I thought we blended quite well as a back row unit with Ryan at No.8 and me on the blindside in last season’s RBS Six Nations championship.

“Gareth Jenkins asked me to play there and I was happy to do so – I’ll play anywhere he asked me to fit in. Looking back at the stats it was an experiment that worked well. It was one of the positives we were able to draw out of the championship.”

But what will Jenkins do now his main ball carrier has been ruled out of the Rugby World Cup? Popham, strong with ball in hand and devastating in the tackle, is a candidate, along with at least three other players that could fill the role.

Colin Charvis missed the training trip to France because of vertigo, but is a shoe-in for a third Rugby World Cup after his tremendous form last season and on tour in Australia.

Michael Owen was the man that made things tick from No.8 when Wales completed the Grand Slam in 2005 and the multi-talented Jonathan Thomas is another capable of locking the scrum.

“You need to be able to mix and match players in the back row and we have a lot of players who can do that,” said Popham. “Colin Charvis and Jonathan Thomas can play in any position across the back row, I’ve got experience at 6 and 8 and there are others who are versatile as well.”

With Martyn Williams virtually picking himself at openside flanker it means that Jenkins will have to perm any two of Popham, Charvis, Thomas, Owen, Gavin Thomas and Alun Wyn Jones in the final two back row places when it comes to crunch time against Australia at the Millennium Stadium.

Before then, though, Popham and Co will have to negotiate three tricky games in August; England, Argentina and France – which have been pencilled in to test how effective the squad’s summer training programme has been.

“It has been a tough 12 week period. The toughest I’ve ever had to go through. We are still finishing off our conditioning programme and we are all in great shape,” said Popham.

“Now it is a question of getting match sharp. We’ve been doing a lot of skills work through the conditioning and we’re just getting into contact sessions.

“It’s all coming together nicely. It will take one or two games to get the mind and body working in proper harmony, but we’ve got the perfect build up to the Rugby World Cup with three big games in August.

“Against England is only a week or so away and we will be trying new combinations and new tactics. We’re bound to be a little bit rusty, but it is a game we will be looking to win.

“Any game between England and Wales is a big one, but this is going to be as much about getting ready for the World Cup as going to Twickenham and beating the old enemy.

“It has been nice to have had a rest over the summer. I played 32 games last season and I feel really refreshed now.”