Wales to spring selection surprise for England clash
NEWS: Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit has been dropped from the match-day 23 to play England in the Six Nations Championship at Twickenham this weekend, according to reports.
The WalesOnline reported that Rees-Zammit is set to return to English club Gloucester for their Premiership match against Leicester.
Wales coach Wayne Pivac is expected to retain Alex Cuthbert after he featured in a 20-17 win over Scotland in Cardiff last time out, with the fit-again Josh Adams returning on the wing and replacing Rees-Zammit for the reigning Six Nations champions’ match against arch-rivals England on Saturday.
The 21-year-old Rees-Zammit is one of the most exciting young players in Europe.
He scored four tries during last season’s Six Nations and was selected for the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa.
At his best he is capable of scoring superb solo tries, as he demonstrated with a brilliant effort against Fiji during November’s Nations Series.
But he has yet to hit those heights this year and it may be that Pivac feels he needs greater solidity in defence to cope with the threats posed by England, who like Wales have one win and one defeat from their opening two matches of this Championship.
#ICYMI: @EnglandRugby coach Eddie Jones has cut his Test week squad from 35 to 25#Rugby ๐#RugbyUnion๐@SixNationsRugby ๐#ENGvWAL ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟV๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟhttps://t.co/tWv65Am6Hk
โ rugby365.com (@rugby365com) February 23, 2022
Players with English clubs are released back to them if they are not involved in a Wales matchday 23.
Pivac is due to announce his team to play England on Thursday.
The New Zealander must also decide whether to recall fit-again back-row Taulupe Faletau, following his recovery from a long-standing ankle injury.
Faletau, capped 86 times, has made two appearances for English club Bath this month, including a full 80 minutes in the 24-20 Premiership defeat by Leicester on Saturday.
The 31-year-old could feature at No 8, with Ross Moriarty and Taine Basham joining him in the Wales back row.
