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Warren Gatland makes 4 changes for Wales' last hope of 2024 win
By Josh Raisey
Warren Gatland has made four changes to his Wales side in their final chance to register a win in 2024 against the world champions South Africa.
Two changes have been made in the pack and another two in the backline from the side that were comprehensively beaten by Australia on Sunday.
The injured Adam Beard has been replaced by Christ Tshiunza in the second-row, while No 8 Aaron Wainwright is out of the squad entirely. Taine Plumtree will start in his place at the back of the scrum.
Another veteran is out entirely in the backline, with Gareth Anscombe being replaced by Sam Costelow at fly-half. With centre Ben Thomas providing cover at No 10, Gatland opted to go without a playmaker on the bench, with Josh Hathaway joining the replacements. Full-back Hathaway will be joined by his Gloucester team-mate Freddie Thomas among the substitutes, who will win his first cap should he come on.
The final change to the starting XV sees Rio Dyer start on the wing, with Blair Murray shifting to full-back to take Cameron Winnett's place.
"Last week’s result hurts and we are just as disappointed by it as the fans," said Gatland.
"Our focus now is on training and preparing well for our final game of this Autumn Nations Series.
“There were good elements that we can definitely build on going into Saturday, but we have to improve our accuracy.
“We know what a quality side South Africa are and the physicality they bring. This week we need to show real courage and front up against the world champions.”
Wales XV
15. Blair Murray (Scarlets – 2 caps)
14. Tom Rogers (Scarlets – 5 caps)
13. Max Llewellyn (Gloucester Rugby – 4 caps)
12. Ben Thomas (Cardiff Rugby – 6 caps)
11. Rio Dyer (Dragons – 22 caps)
10. Sam Costelow (Scarlets – 17 caps)
9. Ellis Bevan (Cardiff Rugby – 5 caps)
1. Gareth Thomas (Ospreys – 35 caps)
2. Dewi Lake (Ospreys – 17 caps) captain
3. Archie Griffin (Bath Rugby – 5 caps)
4. Will Rowlands (Racing 92 – 35 caps)
5. Christ Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs – 14 caps)
6. James Botham (Cardiff Rugby – 15 caps)
7. Jac Morgan (Ospreys – 17 caps)
8. Taine Plumtree (Scarlets – 6 caps)
Replacements
16. Ryan Elias (Scarlets – 43 caps)
17. Nicky Smith (Leicester Tigers – 48 caps)
18. Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff Rugby – 9 caps)
19. Freddie Thomas (Gloucester Rugby – uncapped)
20. Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers – 22 caps)
21. Rhodri Williams (Dragons – 4 caps)
22. Eddie James (Scarlets – 2 caps)
23. Josh Hathaway (Gloucester Rugby – 1 cap)
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Latest Comments
Fair play to Campo for acknowledging Schmidt success, and that he may not have been right about calling for a coaching change.
Go to commentsWith rugby coaches, past performance is a relevant pointer about future success. In his many assignments, Gatland has been successful in the longer term, but has quite often taken time to get there. He has not really been a rapid turnaround guy, but a patient builder of a model for consistent success.
Also, unlike Australia or England, both of which are also in rebuild phases, the current Wales team is not exactly full of household names. The household names have moved on, and he has a relatively junior crew left. For a sense of that, compare the Wales (starting 15) caps against Australia (279) with the equivalent Springbok caps against England (767).
So Gatland is doing his thing, a gradual build of a team that can execute consistently well, and he is doing so with an inexperienced team. IMV Gatland should be given plenty of time to get this working.
Go to comments