COACH Neil Jenkins insists Wales were not ‘substituting by numbers’ when bringing Ross Moriarty off despite the number eight having a stormer against England.

The management have been criticised for the decision to remove the Gloucester back row forward after just 52 minutes of the Six Nations clash in Cardiff.

Moriarty was having a stunning game in both attack and defence but was replaced by Lions ace Taulupe Faletau, who came on for his first game since suffering a knee injury playing for Bath on Christmas Eve.

England went on to sneak the spoils 21-16, sparking questions about the timing of the replacement and whether it should have instead been one of the flankers, Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric, that headed back to the back.

But Jenkins has stressed that the decision to send Faletau into the fray with half an hour left had not been decided before kick-off.

“It’s a 23-man game now,” he said. “Decisions are made at the time, thinking it can enhance the team and bring fresh legs.

“It’s come down to them scoring a very good try in the last five minutes and putting us under pressure.”

“Some of these guys are playing well but some of the players coming off the bench are very good rugby players.

“Certainly Taulupe is a world-class rugby player. Admittedly, he hasn’t played a massive amount of rugby but, when he’s fit and right, is there many better in the world? I’m not too sure.”

Jenkins also defended Wales’ policy of kicking in-field after the criticism following Jonathan Davies’ wayward clearance that allowed England to strike for the winner through Elliot Daly.

The former fly-half instead lamented the chase that enabled George Ford and then Owen Farrell to set up the winger.

“We don’t kick off on all occasions, some games we do,” he said. “England have a very strong lineout driving game, which we saw in the second half.

“Who’s to say if the ball did go off from Jon that they don’t get something from a driving lineout, because they did cause us some problems in the second half with that.

“Jon’s made the decision, the kick was long but we have still got people in positions to make tackles but we weren’t able to do that. To be fair, it was a fantastic pass by Owen Farrell.

“If Jon’s honest, he’s aiming more towards the touchline and the five-metre line but it’s obviously come infield.

“It was a little bit of an error but that’s life. We should have made the tackles from there on anyway.”

Wales will have to be wary of the counter-attacking talent of Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg at Murrayfield a week on Saturday.

“You certainly don’t want to kick loosely to him, said Jenkins. “He is an outstanding rugby player, a fantastic counter-attack player, good on his feet. He embarrasses players with his feet and his footwork and his ability to beat people, and loves to play ball in hand.

“I am not saying we will give him special attention, but he is certainly a major threat to us with ball in hand.”