Six of the best? The Wales changes made by Pivac for Scotland
WALES coach Wayne Pivac has made six changes for Saturday’s rearranged Six Nations clash with Scotland at Parc y Scarlets.
In come Liam Williams, Owen Watkin, Gareth Davies, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands and the uncapped Shane Lewis-Hughes.
Having correctly predicted the changes, rugby correspondent Simon Thomas now explains the thinking behind them.
15. Leigh Halfpenny
The fit-again Liam Williams could have returned in his Lions Test spot of full-back, but Halfpenny has been in fine form of late and didn’t deserve to lose his place.
With heavy rain forecast, there’s likely to be a fair bit of kicking, so his consummate positional play and reliability under the high ball will be priceless.
14. Liam Willliams
Sanjay has had precious little game-time, with just one outing since March due to a foot injury, but he did look sharp on his return for the Scarlets against Benetton last weekend.
George North is the man to miss out, dropping from the 23 altogether, with Pivac saying he has things to work on. A lot of people would have liked to see Louis Rees-Zammit involved, but he is out of the equation due to a shin problem.
13. Jonathan Davies
The 2017 Lions Man of the Series in New Zealand made an immediate impact on his Test comeback against France last weekend, helping to create Halfpenny’s opening-minute try.
After that, he had a relatively quiet game by his standards, with five carries and six tackles in total, but he will have benefitted from the run-out.
12. Owen Watkin
It will be a first Test start for Watkin since the World Cup third-place play-off against New Zealand almost exactly a year ago, with injury having kept him out of the first chunk of the Six Nations.
Nick Tompkins picked up a dead leg in Paris, but has been back in training and is on the bench, so this is a selection call.
11. Josh Adams
Has established himself as one of the first names on the team-sheet when fit with his try-scoring exploits and all-round excellence over the last couple of years.
Wales will want to get him on the ball more against the Scots, so he can show the attacking threat that has been so evident with his outstanding form for Cardiff Blues of late.
10. Dan Biggar
When things don’t click for Wales and they lack a cutting edge, the focus often turns to the 10 and you’ve seen calls for a more attack-minded option in Rhys Patchell or even the uncapped but in-form Callum Sheedy.
But with win at all costs being the theme, the pragmatism and tactical control of Biggar was always likely to get the nod. The man is a born fighter made for under-pressure situations.
9. Gareth Davies
It’s been a switchback ride at scrum-half so far during Pivac’s tenure, with the role rotating between Davies, Tomos Williams and Rhys Webb.
With Williams crocked and Webb having taken a bang to the knee against France, it’s now back to Davies. The experience of Lloyd Williams provides a seasoned tactical presence on the bench, with Kieran Hardy described as one for future games
1. Rhys Carre
There’s real competition at loosehead, but Pivac has stuck with the youthful promise of Carre and will be hoping to see him make a real impact with ball in hand
Wyn Jones, now fully recovered from a tight hamstring, takes over from last weekend’s try-scorer Nicky Smith as the option off the bench.
2. Ryan Elias
There was an argument for starting with Sam Parry as he is so effective over the ball and the more jackals the better in the modern-game, especially with Wales having struggled at the breakdown against the French.
But Elias gets another chance to show he is the man to step into the shoes of the sidelined Ken Owens.
3. Tomas Francis
Samson Lee made a solid return in Paris on his first Wales appearance in 14 months, shoring up the scrum, only then to be forced off after taking a bang to the head, which has kept him out of this game.
Meanwhile, Francis has come back into the mix having been away on Premiership final duty with Exeter last weekend. He now resumes his scrum cornerstone role.
4. Will Rowlands
There has been much talk about the need to add physicality to the pack post-Paris and the 6ft 8ins, 19st 5lb Rowlands will certainly provide a presence as he makes his first start for Wales.
The 29-year-old, who replaces the benched Cory Hill, comes oven-ready from top-level club rugby having just played for Wasps in the Premiership final.
5. Alun Wyn Jones
What can you say about the great man that hasn’t been said already? It will be a landmark occasion for him on Saturday when he leads Wales out against Scotland to become the most-capped player of all time, surpassing the great Richie McCaw.
But as he makes his recordbreaking 149th Test appearance, his sole concern will be helping his team end their four-match losing run. For him, it’s always been about the collective rather than personal glory.
6. Shane Lewis-Hughes
The headline news in the team selection. Not named in the original autumn squad, the uncapped Lewis-Hughes has leapt into the starting line-up in place of Aaron Wainwright, having impressed in training to back up his fine form with Cardiff Blues.
At 6ft 4ins and 17st 11lbs, he
can carry hard, while he’s effective over the ball and is an excellent lineout option.
With Josh Navidi, Ross Moriarty and Josh Macleod all sidelined from the original squad, it’s a huge opportunity for the 23-year-old from Ferndale.
7. Justin Tipuric
To my mind, the Ospreys openside is always at his most effective when he has someone doing the unseen hard graft on the other flank, with Navidi having filled that role perfectly, enabling Tipuric to excel in the wider channels with his footballing ability.
In Lewis-Hughes, he has another physical workhorse at 6, so it’s a combination that could reap rewards.
8. Taulupe Faletau
Having for so long been one of the absolute certain selections in the Wales team, Faletau now finds himself in a different situation.
Were Moriarty or Navidi available, he might not be starting at No.8 this weekend, but if ever there was a case where you hope class really is permanent than this is it.
Should Wales look to change things up in the back row at some point, James Davies can come off the bench to seek out those turnovers.