Wales coach Gatland rings the changes for second England clash
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Head coach Warren Gatland has revealed his Wales team for their second World Cup warm-up match against England.
Following last weekend’s encounter in Cardiff, which saw the home side win 20-9, Wales make the trip to Twickenham Stadium for the return fixture with a much-changed line-up.
Josh Adams will win his 50th cap for Wales on Saturday having made his international debut against Scotland in the 2018 Six Nations.
Joe Roberts (centre) will become the 1,192nd player to represent Wales when he takes to the field on Saturday. Nick Tompkins partners Roberts in the midfield.
Kemsley Mathias and Keiran Williams, named as replacements for the fixture, are also in line to win their first senior Wales caps.
Dewi Lake is selected at hooker and will captain the side at Twickenham. Like Jac Morgan last weekend, this is Lake’s first time leading the side after previous experience at Under-20 level.
Gareth Thomas (loosehead prop) and Tomas Francis (tighthead prop) join Lake in the front row while Rhys Davies makes his first senior start for Wales. Adam Beard appears alongside him in the second row.
Taine Plumtree who made his debut at Millennium Stadium last weekend is selected at No.8. Dan Lydiate (blindside flank) makes his first appearance for Wales since injury against Argentina last year. Tommy Reffell (openside flank) completes the back row.
Tomos Williams, who made an appearance from the bench last weekend, starts at scrumhalf while Owen Williams is named at flyhalf. Liam Williams at fullback and wing Tom Rogers, who makes his first Wales appearance since July 2021, complete the starting XV.
Joining Mathias as the forward cover for the match are Sam Parry, who like Rogers would feature for the first time since July 2021, Dillon Lewis, Christ Tshiunza and Taine Basham.
Kieran Hardy and Dan Biggar join Keiran Williams as the backline cover.
Gatland said: “There’s an opportunity for another group of players who weren’t involved last week. There’s some great competition within the squad. I was pretty pleased with the team performance and the result last week – it wasn’t perfect but there’s a chance now for this group to go out Saturday and to put down their own marker. Like I said there’s some real competition and perhaps a bit of pressure on this group as well. Then we’ll look potentially what the make up of the team is the following week against South Africa.”
On the captaincy Gatland added: “I’ve been really impressed with Dewi. Like Jac [Morgan – who captained the side last week] he’s well-respected in the group, he’s got a voice and he has confidence about himself and his own ability.
“We’re in a bit of transition, so in the back of my mind I was thinking we are building not only for the next few months but also starting to think about what we need to do with the next cycle of players going forwards towards 2027.”
On Josh Adams’ 50th cap Gatland said: “I have a huge amount of respect for Josh. I had a chat to him when he came into the squad – felt he wasn’t as sharp as I’ve seen him in the past and he agreed with that. He’s worked hard. He’s looking really sharp in training at the moment; so to get to earn his 50th cap is a fantastic achievement. He’s been through some adversity – he had to leave Wales to go to the Premiership before we could get him back – but he’s come through it and he’s a really, really popular member of the group. Josh always gives 100% and I’m absolutely delighted for him.”t
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Tom Rogers, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Dewi Lake (captain), 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Keiran Williams.
Date: Saturday, August 12
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off: 17.30 (16.30 GMT)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
