Wales team: Dewi Lake returns as Warren Gatland backs rookie nine against Springboks
Dewi Lake and Ellis Bevan have been named in the Wales team.
Wales have named the uncapped Ellis Bevan at scrum-half for their opening Test of the year, against the world champion Springboks at Twickenham on Saturday.
Cardiff’s Bevan gets the start over the experienced Gareth Davies, who is on the bench, and joins Sam Costelow in the half-backs for a tough meeting with South Africa.
Hooker Dewi Lake will captain the team and he is joined in the front-row by Gareth Thomas and Henry Thomas, who are at loosehead and tighthead prop respectively.
James Botham straight in
Dragons pair Matthew Screech and Ben Carter are selected in the second-row, with Taine Plumtree, James Botham and Aaron Wainwright completing the forward pack.
However, there was some bad news ahead of the Springboks Test as Jac Morgan has been released from the squad due to a hamstring injury and is out for the summer.
Returning to the backline and Mason Grady and Owen Watkin will link up in the midfield for Wales outside of the aforementioned half-back duo, Bevan and Costelow.
Liam Williams will make his first appearance for Wales since the 2023 World Cup. He joins Rio Dyer as Wales’ wings, with Cameron Winnett once again at full-back.
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There are three possible debutants among the replacements for the fixture. They are Eddie James, Jacob Beetham and James Ratti, who was called up this morning.
Davies provides the cover at number nine while Evan Lloyd, Kemsley Mathias, Keiron Assiratti and Mackenzie Martin are the other forwards confirmed on the bench.
“We have our backs to the wall a little bit this week, but we are really excited about the challenge on Saturday,” head coach Warren Gatland explained on Tuesday.
“Facing the world champions at Twickenham Stadium will be a great occasion and we are relishing the opportunity to get out there and put in a performance.
“We have a big week ahead of us with this young squad, but the coaches and I have been very happy with the effort that’s going in.
“There’s a huge amount of potential in this group and the next five weeks will be extremely important for us in terms of wanting to develop this team.”
Wales team
Wales: 15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Mason Grady, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 James Botham, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Ben Carter, 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 James Ratti, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Eddie James, 23 Jacob Beetham
Date: Saturday, June 22
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off: 14:00 BST (13:00 GMT, 15:00 SA time)
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (RFU), Adam Leal (RFU)
TMO: Mark Patton (IRFU)
Coverage: BBC iPlayer, SuperSport, S4C
