Cory Hill withdraws from Wales team following backlash

Gareth Davies will captain Wales against the Reds after Cory Hill’s late withdrawal moments before kick-off for “personal reasons”.

The lock was controversially selected as captain to take on the Super Rugby Pacific outfit, but will now be replaced by Dafydd Jenkins, who was originally picked by Warren Gatland to start on the bench.

Dewi Lake has come into the matchday squad and fills Jenkins’ place on the bench.

Wales’ tour of Australia may have provided Gatland with some signs of growth, but, ultimately, they were ranked in the world’s top ten when they travelled south and will return home no longer in that club. And it could get worse for them this weekend.

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The Wallabies’ 26-16 win in Sydney in the first Test booted Wales out of the top ten for the first time in rankings history, and the 36-28 Australian win a week later in Melbourne, Wales’ ninth Test lost in a row, ensured the visitors would not rebound back.

While Wales can finish their tour on a high on Friday against the Reds, all Welsh eyes will be on Australia’s fixture with Georgia a day later at the Allianz Stadium.

That is because a Georgian victory would see them leapfrog Wales into eleventh place in the world rankings.

As the fixture against the Reds is not an international match, Wales cannot affect their ranking this weekend, which means they have no control as to whether they will end up languishing in twelfth place on Monday.

Worse still for Wales, Richard Cockerill’s side will arrive in Australia with a spring in their step following their 25-23 victory over Eddie Jones’ Japan in Sendai.

It will nevertheless require a Herculean effort from the Lelos to triumph over the Wallabies, with both their encounters going the way of Australia. Their most recent meeting came at the World Cup last year, resulting in a 35-15 win for the Wallabies.

Wales XV
15. Cameron Winnett
14. Rio Dyer
13. Nick Tompkins
12. Eddie James
11. Regan Grace
10. Sam Costeow
9. Gareth Davies
1. Kemsley Mathias
2. Evan Lloyd
3. Archie Griffin
4. Matthew Screech
5. Dafydd Jenkins
6. Christ Tshiunza
7. Taine Plumtree
8. Mackenzie Martin

Replacements
16. Efan Daniel
17. Corey Domachowski
18. Harri O’Connor
19. Dewi Lake
20. Tommy Reffell
21. Kieran Hardy
22. Ben Thomas
23. Mason Grady