Joe Roberts set for Wales Test debut, Dewi Lake named captain against England

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has rung the changes to his starting line-up for their Rugby World Cup warm-up rematch against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

There are 15 alterations in all from the side which claimed a 20-9 win over the same opposition in Cardiff last week, with the big news being Joe Roberts being handed his Test debut at outside centre while Dewi Lake (hooker) will captain the team.

Roberts will become the 1,192nd men’s player to represent Wales at Test level and he will be partnered by Nick Tompkins in midfield.

Josh Adams hits 50 for Wales

It will also be a momentous occasion for right wing Josh Adams, who is set to make his 50th Test appearance for Wales after making his Test debut against Scotland in the 2018 Six Nations.

Meanwhile, Kemsley Mathias and Keiran Williams, who have been included on the replacements bench for this match, are also in line to win their first senior appearances for Wales if they take to the field.

Like Jac Morgan last weekend, this is Lake’s first time leading Wales in a Test after previous experience at U20 level.

Gareth Thomas and Tomas Francis join Lake in the front-row as the starting props while Rhys Davies makes his first senior start for Wales in the second-row alongside the experienced Adam Beard.

Taine Plumtree, who made his international debut in Cardiff last weekend, is selected at number eight while veteran blindside flanker Dan Lydiate will make his first appearance for Wales since injury against Argentina last autumn and Tommy Reffell packs down on the openside flank to complete the back-row.

Tomos Williams, who came on as a replacement last weekend, starts at scrum-half while Owen Williams is named at fly-half. Liam Williams comes in at full-back along with left wing Tom Rogers, who will his first Wales appearance since July 2021.

Joining Mathias as the forward cover for the match are Sam Parry, who like Rogers is also set to play for Wales for the first time since July 2021, Dillon Lewis, Christ Tshiunza and Taine Basham.

Kieran Hardy and Dan Biggar join Keiran Williams as the backline replacements.

Gatland is looking forward to seeing his new squad in action against England.

“There’s an opportunity for another group of players who weren’t involved last week,” he said. “There’s some great competition within the squad.

“I was pretty pleased with the team performance and the result last week – it wasn’t perfect but there’s a chance now for this group to go out Saturday and to put down their own marker.

“Like I said there’s some real competition and perhaps a bit of pressure on this group as well. Then we’ll look potentially what the make up of the team is the following week against South Africa.”

On the captaincy Gatland added: “I’ve been really impressed with Dewi. Like Jac (Morgan – who captained the side last week) he’s well-respected in the group, he’s got a voice and he has confidence about himself and his own ability.

“We’re in a bit of transition, so in the back of my mind I was thinking we are building not only for the next few months but also starting to think about what we need to do with the next cycle of players going forwards towards 2027.”

Gatland also congratulated Adams on his 50th appearance for his country.

“I have a huge amount of respect for Josh,” he said. “I had a chat to him when he came into the squad – felt he wasn’t as sharp as I’ve seen him in the past and he agreed with that. He’s worked hard.

‘A fantastic achievement’

“He’s looking really sharp in training at the moment; so to get to earn his 50th cap is a fantastic achievement.

“He’s been through some adversity – he had to leave Wales to go to the Premiership before we could get him back – but he’s come through it and he’s a really, really popular member of the group. Josh always gives 100% and I’m absolutely delighted for him.”

Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Joe Roberts, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Tom Rogers, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Keiran Williams

Date: Saturday, August 12
Venue: Twickenham Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 BST (16:30 GMT)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

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