WALES HEAD COACH Warren Gatland has named veteran fullback Leigh Halfpenny in his starting XV to face Ireland on Saturday in the Six Nations [KO 2.15pm, Virgin Media].
34-year-old Halfpenny gets the nod in Gatland’s first team since returning as Wales boss, meaning he will make his first start for the Welsh since the summer of 2021. Halfpenny was previously a key man during Gatland’s first tenure. The 81-times capped Cardiff fullback Liam Williams has missed out on selection altogether.
Experienced hooker Ken Owens captains the team that will take on Andy Farrell’s Ireland this weekend at the sold-out Principality Stadium.
The Welsh backline includes once-capped centre Joe Hawkins and three-times capped wing Rio Dyer, although there is a familiar look to the halfback pairing of Tomos Williams and Dan Biggar.
Owens is joined in the front row by Ospreys pair Gareth Thomas and Tomas Francis, while Alun Wyn Jones and Adam Beard make up the second row. The in-form Jac Morgan lines up with Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau in the back row.
Hawkins partners George North in the midfield, as Dyer and Halfpenny form the back three with Josh Adams. The pacy Louis Rees-Zammit misses out through injury.
There are some relatively fresh faces on the Welsh bench, including 20-year-old Exeter lock Dafydd Jenkins and Leicester flanker Tommy Reffell. Three-times capped out-half Owen Williams returns to the Welsh squad for the first time since 2017, as does hooker Scott Baldwin. Alex Cuthbert and Rhys Webb, who last played for Wales in the autumn of 2020, also return to the matchday 23.
“Ireland are the number one team in the world, so they’re going to be coming here with a lot of confidence,” said Gatland.
“You don’t become the number one team in the world without having some pretty consistent performances. We know how good they are and we’re expecting a really tough contest. It’s important for us that we start well, but we need to be in the game at the last 20 minutes.
“We’ve only had a couple of weeks together but I’m confident that the guys will go out and give a good account of themselves. They’re pretty excited about playing this first game at home.”
Ireland are due to name their matchday 23 on Thursday morning.
Wales (v Ireland):
- 15. Leigh Halfpenny
- 14. Josh Adams
- 13. George North
- 12. Joe Hawkins
- 11. Rio Dyer
- 10. Dan Biggar
- 9. Tomos Williams
- 1. Gareth Thomas
- 2. Ken Owens (captain)
- 3. Tomas Francis
- 4. Adam Beard
- 5. Alun Wyn Jones
- 6. Jac Morgan
- 7. Justin Tipuric
- 8. Taulupe Faletau
Replacements:
- 16. Scott Baldwin
- 17. Rhys Carre
- 18. Dillon Lewis
- 19. Dafydd Jenkins
- 20. Tommy Reffell
- 21. Rhys Webb
- 22. Owen Williams
- 23. Alex Cuthbert
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