Gatland changes quartet for Ireland
Wales coach Warren Gatland has made four changes to the team to play Ireland in the World Cup quarterfinal in Wellington on Saturday, buoyed by the return to fitness of Shane Williams and Dan Lydiate.
Williams returns to his usual left wing berth, with Leigh Halfpenny shifting to fullback in place of Lee Byrne who drops out of the match-day 22.
Teenager George North switches from left to right wing to accommodate Williams.
Lydiate is back from an ankle injury to replace Ryan Jones at blindside flank, while Jonathan Davies comes back into midfield alongside Jamie Roberts, Scott Williams dropping to the bench.
Alun Wyn Jones takes the place of Bradley Davies in the second row, the latter named as a replacement alongside James Hook, with no place for veteran playmaker Stephen Jones.
“It’s a great position to be in when you are struggling to find a place for players in the squad and the starting line-up instead of having to think who can make up the numbers, which has sometimes been the case,” said Gatland.
“This is the World Cup quarterfinal time and we had some tough decisions to make with the likes of Dan, Shane and James returning from injury and the side having done so well in their absence,” the New Zealander explained.
“We believe this is the side which gives us the best chance of winning this game against an Ireland team which not only topped their group but beat the Wallabies on the way,” former Ireland coach Gatland added.
The front row is unchanged, with Adam Jones and Gethin Jenkins propping up Huw Bennett, while Mike Phillips and Rhys Priestland again start at scrumhalf.
“They’ve got no fear factor, they’ve got no history,” Gatland added of his young team, captained by 23-year-old flank Sam Warburton, who packs down alongside 20-year-old No.8 Toby Faletau.
“We have a balance we haven’t had before, the best we’ve ever had,” the Kiwi said, dubbing the younger players “pretty special”.
“We’re not changing the way we play, we’re just making good decisions.
“The nice thing is that some of the older players know they have youngsters biting at their ankles and that has brought the best out of the older players.”
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (captain), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Paul James, 18 Bradley Davies, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.
Date: Saturday, October 8
Venue: Regional Stadium, Wellington
Kick-off: 18.00 (05.00 GMT)
Referee: Craig Joubert
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes, Romain Poite
TMO: Giulio De Santis
AFP