Wales to unleash Sevens star against Scotland
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Wales have named two uncapped players in their 23-man squad for their opening November Test series clash against Scotland with wing Luke Morgan named in the starting XV and flyhalf Jarrod Evans named on the bench.
Morgan, Wales Sevens’ all-time leading try scorer, will make his debut at Principality Stadium alongside the experienced duo of British & Irish Lions George North and Leigh Halfpenny.
Eight Lions in total are named for Wales including 2017 Player of the Series Jonathan Davies who returns from injury to feature for his country for the first time since 2017. He partners regional teammate Hadleigh Parkes in the midfield with Gareth Anscombe and Gareth Davies partnering at halfback.
Nicky Smith, Ken Owens and Dillon Lewis make-up the front-three combination, with Lewis making his first start at home for Wales.
Cory Hill and captain Alun Wyn Jones continue their partnership in the second-row with Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric and Ross Moriarty linking up to make an all Lions back-row.
Wales and Scotland will go head-to-head in Cardiff on Saturday for the Doddie Weir Cup and the hosts are looking forward to kicking off their 2018/19 campaign according to Rob Howley.
“It’s nice to reward players for their performances for their regions,” Rob Howley tells WRU TV following today’s #WALvSCO team announcement 🎞️ pic.twitter.com/bjpThHRLV1
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏉 (@WelshRugbyUnion) November 1, 2018
“We are excited to kick off our autumn campaign on Saturday and it was great to welcome Warren back yesterday,” said Howley.
“Warren has been in constant dialogue with us over the past week and we have selected a very strong squad for this weekend.
“It is great to reward players on form and we are looking forward to seeing Luke make his debut on the wing. He has come through the Sevens system, he will bring a point of difference to the squad and it’s a great opportunity for him. Likewise it will be good to see Jarrod from the bench and hopefully seeing some x-factor from him.
“We have created good strength in depth, especially from the summer and have a nice balance bringing seven Lions back into the team.
“We are very respectful of this Scotland team and are looking forward to what should be a great opening match”
Elliot Dee, Rob Evans and Leon Brown provide the front-row cover on the bench with Adam Beard and Aaron Wainwright completing the forward contingent.
Tomos Williams, uncapped Evans and Scarlets wing Steff Evans complete the replacements.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Luke Morgan, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Cory Hill, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Steff Evans.
Date: Saturday, November 3
Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 14.45 (14.45 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Frank Murphy (Ireland)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
