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Wales opt for five changes against England, four alterations coming in their backline

25 Feb 2021

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Wayne Pivac has made five changes to his Wales team to play England on Saturday in Cardiff in round three of the Guinness Six Nations following their February 13 25-24 away win over Scotland in Edinburgh. Just one of the changes comes in the pack, fit-again Josh Navidi slotting in at blindside in place of Aaron Wainwright.

In the backs, Kieran Hardy replaces Gareth Davies at scrum-half, there is a new midfield pairing in Jonathan Davies and George North who take over from Nick Tompkins and Owen Watkin. It will be a 100th Test cap appearance for North, who missed out against the Scots with a foot issue.

Meanwhile, Josh Adams returns after his suspension to fit in on the left wing with Liam Williams, who wore the No11 jersey at Murrayfield, reverting to full-back instead of Leigh Halfpenny who was going through his return to play concussion protocols.

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“We have had a great two weeks leading into this game and we are looking forward to Saturday,” said Wales boss Pivac. “We continue to build and we know there is plenty left in us in terms of improvements from the opening two rounds. We are 2/2 but we want to continue to improve performance-wise.

“Saturday is a great milestone for George, it is a huge achievement at his age and we are looking forward to seeing him in action.”

Things have turned spicy ahead of England's trip to Wales#SixNations #WALvENG
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— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 24, 2021

On the bench, Elliot Dee, Rhodri Jones and Leon Brown provide the front row cover for Wales with Cory Hill and James Botham completing the forward contingent. Gareth Davies, Callum Sheedy and Uilisi Halaholo provide the backline cover.

WALES (vs England, Saturday)
1. Wyn Jones (32 Caps)
2. Ken Owens (79 Caps)
3. Tomas Francis (54 Caps)
4. Adam Beard (23 Caps)
5. Alun Wyn Jones (CAPT) (145 Caps)
6. Josh Navidi (25 Caps)
7. Justin Tipuric (82 Caps)
8. Taulupe Faletau (83 Caps)
9. Kieran Hardy (3 Caps)
10. Dan Biggar (89 Caps)
11. Josh Adams (29 Caps)
12. Jonathan Davies (85 Caps)
13. George North (99 Caps)
14. Louis Rees-Zammit (6 Caps)
15. Liam Williams (68 Caps)

Replacements:
16. Elliot Dee (34 Caps)
17. Rhodri Jones (19 Caps)
18. Leon Brown (14 Caps)
19. Cory Hill (29 Caps)
20. James Botham (4 Caps)
21. Gareth Davies (59 Caps)
22. Callum Sheedy (6 Caps)
23. Uilisi Halaholo (1 Cap)

SUPER RUGBY AOTEAROA SIGN UP IS NOW LIVE ? https://t.co/8NQAnOvAD2 pic.twitter.com/31CMv9h5ms
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 25, 2021

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fl 1 hour ago

'Caelan Doris... I’m not sure he gets in the Lions back row at the moment'

Does he have to name a tour captain? Itoje and Doris will both captain during the warmup games. Jamie George will too if he’s in the squad, and Jac Morgan and Finn Russell might get a look in too if they’re lucky. Farrell could then choose a captain for the tests after he’s taken some time to see what works.

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fl 1 hour ago

'Caelan Doris... I’m not sure he gets in the Lions back row at the moment'

JD you’re forgetting one thing - IkeaBoy is very stupid!

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Duhan van der Merwe's Lions tour thrown into doubt

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Ronald Fraser 4 hours ago

Duhan van der Merwe's Lions tour thrown into doubt

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JD 5 hours ago

'Caelan Doris... I’m not sure he gets in the Lions back row at the moment'

Doris didn’t play that well though, while other number 8’s really shone. Hell Conan made more impact during his minutes than Doris. It doesn’t matter how well Ireland did. Example - Sale lost to Toulouse last weekend, but Ben Curry was phenomenal despite losing.

Don’t judge a player on 5 games is my opinion, class is permanent. Doris does need some good games between now and the end of the season though.

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Duhan van der Merwe's Lions tour thrown into doubt

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JD 5 hours ago

Despite the Croke Park horror show, Marcus Smith shouldn't be discounted from Lions conversation

Taking 2 fly halfs and 2 fullbacks plus Marcus Smith leaves an extra tour spot. Quids in it will be Elliott Daly given his versatility. Personally I’m not a huge fan of his, but for a tour like this he will be ideal given the sheer number of matches. A further centre cum flyhalf (Jordan) isn’t needed as Kinghorn can play 10 as well. Part of me really wants Manu on that plane.

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JD 5 hours ago

'Caelan Doris... I’m not sure he gets in the Lions back row at the moment'

Farrell comes left field and names Jac Morgan as tour captain…

One problem for Doris currently is the form of Jack Conan. Conan is basically playing anywhere just to get on the pitch and is starting tonight at 8 vs Glasgow.

It’s an interesting thing to consider. Neither Doris nor Itoje are hugely experienced captains, but the argument could be made that Maro has more experience at the top given his amount of international caps and previous Lions involvement.

Both will be leaders in the pack regardless. Whoever is captain has to be a nailed on starter though. It’s not that outlandish to namecheck the current England captain as a potential tour captain really given Farrell only has a few options in front of him.

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JD 5 hours ago

'Caelan Doris... I’m not sure he gets in the Lions back row at the moment'

He’ll be starting second row anyway so surely it’s irrelevant to Oz whether he’s captain or not then?

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NB 5 hours ago

Why French rugby would be poorer if Ronan O'Gara leaves La Rochelle

Every league bar hte Top 14 is posting huge numbers of points 👍

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NB 5 hours ago

Why French rugby would be poorer if Ronan O'Gara leaves La Rochelle

He ruled it out previously.

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NB 5 hours ago

Why French rugby would be poorer if Ronan O'Gara leaves La Rochelle

For sure, but it’s not a reason to trade away a series win in NZ - at least not unless you’re inhabiting an alternate universe!

NZ prob learned more because Schmidt came in, and he was far more familiar with developments in Ireland than any of the local coaches.

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NB 5 hours ago

Why French rugby would be poorer if Ronan O'Gara leaves La Rochelle

They are not opposed points of view FL.

England up to Ireland 2024 tended to kick back rather than return. Their KR improvement coincided with both trhe intro of Furbank at 15, and Felix Jones running a more aggressive form of D.

France are good kick returners, but most of the work on that is done by the coaches at Toulouse and UBB, who have adopted a similar style.

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IkeaBoy 5 hours ago

'Caelan Doris... I’m not sure he gets in the Lions back row at the moment'

Its the Oz media. They want him as captain with his penalty count and discipline woes. He’d help them no end.

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DP 5 hours ago

'Caelan Doris... I’m not sure he gets in the Lions back row at the moment'

Tinsel has zero rugby IQ but a lot of influential rugby mates. The bloke spouts so much nonsense it’s hilarious to hear, he speaks with such conviction… blinkered and rose tinted conviction, much like most of the English players from his era.

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