| It has been a difficult week for Steve Hansen, with less than two weeks to go before the start of this season's championship; Hansen has lost the services of one of the sides most consistent players. Stephen Jones broke his hand while playing for Llanelli against Cardiff on February 4.
With Stephen Jones out for the foreseeable future, Hansen must choose to blood Ceri Sweeney, or give Iestyn Harris the No. 10 shirt.
Jones withdrawal come hot on the heels of Hansen losing the services several first-choice players, including Sonny Parker, Robin McBryde, Neil Jenkins, Andy Marinos, Dafydd James, Andrew Lewis and Barry Williams.
But, despite these injury concerns, Hansen is remaining pragmatic about the aims for the team.
"The aim has got to be to improve on our last two championships and to build on our performances in the Autumn International Series," he said.
"We progress as a team every time we come together and we have made significant progress over the past six months.
"The coaches know the players far better and the players have a better understanding of what we want from them."
And Hansen knows exactly what Welsh rugby fans expect.
"This is a huge event in the world rugby calendar, on a par with the Tri-Nations Series as the best Test competition in the world, and Wales has a great tradition to uphold.
"We want to do well, and that is definitely the aim, but improving our level of performance is also vitally important. We will gain a great deal from this championship if we can grow as a team.
"There is great enthusiasm among the players and coaches and this is the start of a huge year of rugby for all of us. We want to step up our levels and we know that if we can do that, results will follow."
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