Biggar fit at fly-half, Morgan in at No.6 - Wales name team to play Argentina
- 1806
Wales head coach Warren Gatland has announced his squad to face Argentina in Stade de Marseille on Saturday 14 October.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland has named his matchday 23 to face Argentina in Marseille on Saturday, with Dan Biggar fit to start at fly-half and Tommy Reffell retained at openside flanker. Jac Morgan moves to blindside flanker and Aaron Wainwright replaces the injured Taulupe Faletau at number-eight.
1 Gareth Thomas
2 Ryan Elias
3 Tomas Francis
4 Will Rowlands
5 Adam Beard
6 Jac Morgan (c)
7 Tommy Reffell
8 Aaron Wainwright
9 Gareth Davies
10 Dan Biggar
11 Josh Adams
12 Nick Tompkins
13 George North
14 Louis Rees-Zammit
15 Liam Williams
Replacements:
16 Dewi Lake
17 Corey Domachowski
18 Dillon Lewis
19 Dafydd Jenkins
20 Christ Tshiunza
21 Tomos Williams
22 Sam Costelow
23 Rio Dyer
• Head coach Warren Gatland has made six personnel changes to his starting XV from the team that defeated Georgia last game, with three in the forward pack and three in the back-line.
• Aaron Wainwright will wear the number eight jersey - for the 11th time in his 43rd test - in place of the injured Taulupe Faletau.
• Regular captain and openside flanker Jac Morgan moves to blindside flanker. Tommy Reffell has been rewarded with a place on the openside after an impressive performance against Georgia: 18 tackles and three turnovers.
• Gareth Davies and Dan Biggar return together at half-back, Biggar after injury. Josh Adams and Adam Beard return at left-wing and second-row respectively, after being rested against Georgia.
• Squad co-captain Dewi Lake drops to the bench with Ryan Elias restored to hooker.
• George North becomes the first Welshman to play four Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, but he is still chasing his first try in the knock-out stages.
• Louis Rees-Zammitt will be the only Welsh player to have started in all five games at RWC 2023. He has scored five tries in four matches with one assist. He leads the team for defenders beaten (14) and carry metres (325), as well as the joint-most line breaks with four alongside George North.
• Will Rowlands has been impressive at the breakdown: with one turnover and one forced penalty from the second-most defensive rucks hit (22) for Wales. He has made a team-high 49 tackles, including the joint-most dominant tackles (3). He has been their main target in the lineout with a team-high 13 wins and two steals.