Wales drop speedster in shock move ahead of All Blacks clash
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Wales head coach Steve Tandy made a big call when selecting his matchday squad to face New Zealand in the Nations Championship in Cardiff on Saturday.
Tandy made four changes to the side that edged Japan 28-21 in Round Four of the competition last week.
The major talking point is the omission of winger Josh Adams, who scored two tries for his side in that clash.
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Not good news for All Blacks
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Adams has been replaced by Gabriel Hamer-Webb, who will earn only his second cap after making his debut against Scotland in the Six Nations last year.
That is the only change in the backline, while Wales will be without the influential Aaron Wainwright, who suffered a calf injury.
Taine Basham will start in his place, returning to the side for the first time in over two years. James Botham has also been named in the back row, and he’ll play alongside Jac Morgan and Basham.
Wales will be hunting their first-ever win over the All Blacks. They lost last year’s meeting 26-52 at the same venue.
Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Eddie James, 12 Max Llewellyn, 11 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taine Basham, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 James Botham, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 3 Archie Griffin, 2 Dewi Lake (captain), 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Ben Carter, 20 Taine Plumtree, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Dan Edwards, 23 Louie Hennessey.
Date: Saturday, November 14
Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 14:10 UK & IRE (14:10 GMT, 03:10 NZDT, Sunday 15 November)
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant Referees: Nic Berry (Australia), Luc Ramos (France)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)
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