The wing Owen Lane and the prop Rhys Carre will make their Wales debuts in Saturday’s World Cup warm-up against Ireland in Cardiff.
Warren Gatland has made 14 changes from the starting side on duty against England 12 days ago, with the Cardiff back-row forward Josh Navidi captaining Wales for the first time. The flanker James Davies is only the player retained from the 13-6 victory over England on 17 August.
Alongside Cardiff’s Lane and Saracens’ Carre there are also opportunities for the full-back Hallam Amos, the centre Scott Williams, the fly-half Jarrod Evans and the hooker Ryan Elias before Gatland announces his 31-man World Cup squad on Sunday. The coach says a number of positions are “still up for grabs”.
Lane and Amos could effectively be battling it out for one back-three place, while the 21-year-old Carre has an opportunity to show the form that drove Premiership and European champions Saracens to sign him from the Blues earlier this year.
The match will be Gatland’s final Test in Cardiff before he steps down after the World Cup. He said: “It is a great opportunity for Rhys and Owen. They have worked hard all summer to get to this point, so it will be good for them to get their first international caps and put their hands up for World Cup selection.”
“For Josh, it’s a huge honour to be named captain. He has been hugely consistent for us, he has really impressed in the last couple of seasons and he will lead from the front on Saturday.
“Saturday is a really big game for the players, and I am really excited about the challenge for this Welsh team. There is so much at stake in terms of selection and – with a number of positions still up for grabs – it will be a huge game.”
Victory over Ireland would give Wales a 12th-successive home win. They have not lost in Cardiff since November 2017.