Warren Gatland has opted to make 13 changes to his side that faced Fiji; Louis Rees-Zammit and Taulupe Faletau are the only players to stay in the starting XV; Wales continue their World Cup campaign against Portugal in Pool C on Saturday (4:45pm UK time);
Thursday 14 September 2023 06:13, UK
Dan Biggar has been rested by Wales head coach Warren Gatland as he makes 13 changes to his side to face Portugal in their second match of the Rugby World Cup.
Louis Rees-Zammit and Taulupe Faletau are the only players to be retained in the starting line-up from Wales' opening clash against Fiji, with Leigh Halfpenny coming in as one of the more notable additions at full-back for his 101st cap.
Tomos Williams is in at scrum-half for his 50th cap, while Gareth Anscombe will make his first start of the tournament at fly-half.
Gatland has also handed out four World Cup debuts with Dewi Lake captaining the side at hooker, Johnny Williams and Mason Grady in the centres and Christ Tshiunza at lock.
Lake is joined by Nicky Smith and Dillon Lewis in the front row, Dafyyd Jenkins partners Tshiunza in the second row, and Rio Dyer pairs up on the wing with Rees-Zammit.
Dan Lydiate starts at blindside flanker while Tommy Reffell makes his first start of this year's tournament at openside flanker, with Faletau continuing at No. 8 to finish off the pack and get some more game time under his belt after recently returning from a calf injury.
Wales' replacements include Gareth Davies, Sam Costelow and Josh Adams in the backs, with Ryan Elias, Corey Domachowski and Tomas Francis the options for the front row and Adam Beard in as the second row cover.
Taine Basham, also in-line for his world cup debut, is the final forward replacement.
"We've made a few changes this week given the six-day turnaround," said Gatland.
"This is an opportunity now for this matchday 23. I've said before, but there's some great competition within the squad, which is what we want to see. There's a chance now for this group to go out Saturday and to put down their own marker in the tournament.
"We've done a thorough debrief of last week's game and know the areas we need to improve. We have a clear plan of how we want to play on Saturday and it's about going out there and executing that as we have prepared.
"Portugal are a skilful side and will be raring to go this weekend in their first match of the tournament. We're excited to get back out there and looking forward to seeing more great support from the travelling fans out in Nice."
Wales held on for a 32-26 victory over Fiji in their opening match last weekend, but Saturday's clash should in theory be the easiest game of their campaign, as they take on the lowest-ranked side in Pool C.
Wales starting XV: 15. Leigh Halfpenny, 14. Louis Rees-Zammit, 13. Mason Grady, 12. Johnny Williams, 11. Rio Dyer; 10. Gareth Anscombe, 9. Tomos Williams, 1. Nicky Smith, 2. Dewi Lake (c), 3. Dillon Lewis, 4. Christ Tshiunza, 5. Dafydd Jenkins, 6. Dan Lydiate, 7. Tommy Reffell, 8. Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: 16. Ryan Elias, 17. Corey Domachowski, 18. Tomas Francis, 19. Adam Beard, 20. Taine Basham, 21. Gareth Davies, 22. Sam Costelow, 23. Josh Adams.
