Shanklin answers your questions

Tom Shanklin Wales centre

Tom Shanklin played for Wales in their opening World Cup win against Canada on Sunday. He took time out from his post-match recovery to answer some of your questions.

Q. Will you be taking a break after the World Cup or is it straight back to playing for the Blues? They look to be doing OK without you.
Archie, Cardiff
It all depends on how far we get and how much rugby we play. It would be nice to get a break though. It's better for us as international players if the regional teams are doing well because there is not as much pressure on us to get back and it also shows they can win without us.

Q. Which player at this World Cup would you least like to be tackled by? (excluding Colin Charvis!)
Seth Kitson, Newcastle
Probably a cross between Sebastien Chabal and New Zealand's Jerry Collins.

Q. What rituals and routines do you go through in the dressing room and in the tunnel before taking the field?
Roger Huw Jones, Tokyo
I don't really have any rituals before games. I just try to chill out. We all listen to music - chosen by Gethin Jenkins who has all the dance music and beats and stuff. It was an hour's trip to the ground from the hotel for the game against Canada so I played my PlayStation for an hour - Tiger Woods Golf and a bit of Virtual Tennis.

Q. What is your favourite position - centre or wing?
Lloyd Jones, Merthyr Tydfil
Definitely centre. These days to play on the wing at the top level you have to be fast like Joe Rokocoko or Shane Williams or Mark Jones and I probably haven't got that top-end speed.

Q. If you could have played in any of Wales' historical matches, which one would it be?
Adam Mason, Wales
I'd always like to have played alongside Scott Gibbs so it would have to be the game where they beat England 32-31 at Wembley in 1999 in the last Five Nations Championship. But I've also been lucky enough to play in a great match for Wales against Ireland to win the Grand Slam in 2005 and that one certainly sticks out.

Q. If Wales manage to win the World Cup, do you think we could all see the "Shanks Shuffle" on the podium when you receive your medal?
Gareth Chestney, Cardiff
Definitely. It all started when myself and Alun Wyn Jones went to the X-Factor in Cardiff and I said I would dance behind him. It's just off the cuff but I'm sure I could do something - a bit of breakdancing, maybe. Remember, I'm the number one dancer in the team.

Q. And a bonus questions from us. How have you been passing the time when you're not training or playing?
There's been a bit of breaking into rooms since we got here. Mark Jones' room has been broken into a couple of times. First we put food all over his room and after the game against Canada we put bikes in there.

He thought it was Dwayne Peel so he picked up a live sheep from the grounds of the hotel and brought it into Dwayne's room and closed the door.

When Dwayne came back after about an hour he found the sheep had done its business all over the room. No doubt there will be repercussions but we don't know what yet.

Tom will be answering some of your questions during the World Cup. If you would like to ask him a question, fill in the form at the top right of this page (website users only; not available on mobiles).