Wales lose star man to injury as Warren Gatland brings back excellent rookie for Wallabies Test
Split with Wales players Aaron Wainwright, Cam Winnett and coach Warren Gatland.
Star number eight Aaron Wainwright misses out through a hamstring injury, forcing Warren Gatland to shuffle his back-row for Wales’ Test against Australia in Melbourne.
Wainwright’s absence sees Taine Plumtree shift to number eight, and James Botham comes in as the blindside flank, with Tommy Reffell maintaining his spot at openside.
The youthful second-row pairing of Christ Tshiunza and Dafydd Jenkins continue their work while skipper Dewi Lake is joined by props Archie Griffin and Gareth Thomas in the front-row.
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Back-three changes
Injury to Josh Hathaway sees veteran Liam Williams shift to the wing and Cameron Winnett come in at full-back. The rapid Rio Dyer keeps his spot on the wing.
The rest of the backline remains the same with Mason Grady and Owen Watkin in the centres as Ben Thomas and Ellis Bevan continue their half-back partnership.
Gatland opted for a conventional 5-3 split on the bench with Kieran Hardy, Sam Costelow and Nick Tomkins the backline options. Evan Lloyd, Kelmsey Mathias, Harri O’Connor, Cory Hill and Mackenzie Martin are the forward replacements.
Gatland said: “We’re looking forward to getting back out on the pitch this weekend in Melbourne.
“This week we’ve been going through our processes, building on what worked well and sharpening the areas that need improvement.
“We expect Australia to go up another level this weekend and we know we need to as well.
Wales XV to face Australia
Wales: 15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Mason Grady, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Ben Thomas, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 James Botham, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Christ Tshiunza, 3 Archie Griffin, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Nick Tompkins
Date: Saturday, July 13
Kick-off: 19:45 local (10:45 BST)
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (RFU), Paul Williams (NZR)
TMO: Glenn Newman (NZR)
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