1
Wales opt for five changes against England, four alterations coming in their backline
By Liam Heagney
Wayne Pivac has made five changes to his Wales team to play England on Saturday in Cardiff in round three of the Guinness Six Nations following their February 13 25-24 away win over Scotland in Edinburgh. Just one of the changes comes in the pack, fit-again Josh Navidi slotting in at blindside in place of Aaron Wainwright.
In the backs, Kieran Hardy replaces Gareth Davies at scrum-half, there is a new midfield pairing in Jonathan Davies and George North who take over from Nick Tompkins and Owen Watkin. It will be a 100th Test cap appearance for North, who missed out against the Scots with a foot issue.
Meanwhile, Josh Adams returns after his suspension to fit in on the left wing with Liam Williams, who wore the No11 jersey at Murrayfield, reverting to full-back instead of Leigh Halfpenny who was going through his return to play concussion protocols.
“We have had a great two weeks leading into this game and we are looking forward to Saturday,” said Wales boss Pivac. “We continue to build and we know there is plenty left in us in terms of improvements from the opening two rounds. We are 2/2 but we want to continue to improve performance-wise.
“Saturday is a great milestone for George, it is a huge achievement at his age and we are looking forward to seeing him in action.”
On the bench, Elliot Dee, Rhodri Jones and Leon Brown provide the front row cover for Wales with Cory Hill and James Botham completing the forward contingent. Gareth Davies, Callum Sheedy and Uilisi Halaholo provide the backline cover.
WALES (vs England, Saturday)
1. Wyn Jones (32 Caps)
2. Ken Owens (79 Caps)
3. Tomas Francis (54 Caps)
4. Adam Beard (23 Caps)
5. Alun Wyn Jones (CAPT) (145 Caps)
6. Josh Navidi (25 Caps)
7. Justin Tipuric (82 Caps)
8. Taulupe Faletau (83 Caps)
9. Kieran Hardy (3 Caps)
10. Dan Biggar (89 Caps)
11. Josh Adams (29 Caps)
12. Jonathan Davies (85 Caps)
13. George North (99 Caps)
14. Louis Rees-Zammit (6 Caps)
15. Liam Williams (68 Caps)
Replacements:
16. Elliot Dee (34 Caps)
17. Rhodri Jones (19 Caps)
18. Leon Brown (14 Caps)
19. Cory Hill (29 Caps)
20. James Botham (4 Caps)
21. Gareth Davies (59 Caps)
22. Callum Sheedy (6 Caps)
23. Uilisi Halaholo (1 Cap)
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Harlequins confirm the 11 players leaving at the end of the season
3
Fissler Confidential: Jonny May's next club and Bok forced to retire
4
Fashion-savvy ex-England No10 Jacob Umaga opens up on national switch
5
Latest Comments
Always reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
Go to comments