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9 changes as Gatland finally names his Wales team to host England
By Liam Heagney
Warren Gatland has unveiled the Wales team to host England this Saturday in Guinness Six Nations round three, the head coach picking an XV that has nine changes – including the demotion of Dan Biggar and the omission of George North – from the away loss to Scotland last time out. The Welsh were soundly beaten 7-35 at Murrayfield and their preparations for their latest game were affected by the contractual controversy that resulted in a threatened player strike.
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That jeopardy over the staging of this weekend’s match at the Principality resulted in Gatland shelving his original plan to name his team on Tuesday. Instead, WRU talks with the players regarding contracts went ahead on Wednesday and only following the resolution that was reached at that meeting were Wales finally in a position to confirm the match will definitely go ahead.
Having since confirmed that the stadium roof will also be opened for the game, in contrast to it being closed for the round one encounter against Ireland, Wales have now named a team that includes the demotion of Biggar to the bench and the start at No13 for the uncapped Mason Grady.
Grady is named in place of the axed North, one of four changes to the backline. Leigh Halfpenny is named at full-back in place of Liam Williams, Louis Reez-Zammit is picked on the left wing in place of Rio Dyer and Owen Williams comes in for Biggar at out-half.
In the pack, Gareth Thomas, Tomas Francis, Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau are named at the respective expense of Wyn Jones, Dillon Lewis, Daffyfd Jenkins, Tommy Reffell and Jac Morgan. Gatland said: “There’s some experience coming back into the side with Taulupe Faletau, Justin Tipuric, Alun Wyn Jones and also Leigh Halfpenny.
“And then we ae mixing that with giving players an opportunity. Owen Williams coming in at 10 – we need to find out about that 10 position so Owen gets a chance. We have given Mason Grady a first cap. He is a big lad, he has got some really lovely rugby skills and offloading ability. He os quick, so he is the kind of centre that I think is going to have it all going forward.
“He has got a good rugby head on him. He is still pretty inexperienced so the big message to him has been, ‘What is the biggest thing you need to work on?’ He said: ‘Keep talking and keep communicating’, so that has been the focus for him and I have been really happy with him in training.
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“The message to the players has been let’s draw a line in the sand in terms of what has been going on and focus completely on the rugby. We know the history of Wales and England, what that means to everyone in Wales, so we have got to go out there and give a good performance.
“For both teams, this is a massive game because we win on Saturday and we can get things on track a little bit more. For England, it’s a huge game because if you look at their final two games that is a challenge too, so it’s a huge moment in this competition.”
Wales (vs England, Saturday – 4:45pm)
15. Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets – 97 caps)
14. Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby – 46 caps)
13. Mason Grady (Cardiff Rugby – uncapped)
12. Joe Hawkins (Ospreys – 3 caps)
11. Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby – 22 caps)
10. Owen Williams (Ospreys – 4 caps)
9. Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 42 caps)
1. Gareth Thomas (Ospreys – 18 caps)
2. Ken Owens (Scarlets – 88 caps) captain
3. Tomas Francis (Ospreys – 68 caps)
4. Adam Beard (Ospreys – 43 caps)
5. Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys – 156 caps)
6. Christ Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs – 4 caps)
7. Justin Tipuric (Ospreys – 90 caps)
8. Taulupe Faletau (Cardiff Rugby – 97 caps)
Replacements
16. Bradley Roberts (Dragons – 3 caps)
17. Rhys Carre (Cardiff Rugby – 19 caps)
18. Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Rugby – 47 caps)
19. Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs – 3 caps)
20. Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers – 6 caps)
21. Kieran Hardy (Scarlets – 16 caps)
22. Dan Biggar (Toulon – 105 caps)
23. Nick Tompkins (Saracens – 25 caps)
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