Wales Team Announcement Ahead of Clash with World Champions South Africa
Ahead of their highly anticipated match against world champions South Africa at Twickenham this Saturday, the Wales national rugby union team have announced several changes to their lineup.
Prop Henry Thomas has been ruled out of the encounter due to a foot injury. The recently signed Scarlets player has been replaced in the starting XV by Cardiff’s Keiron Assiratti, while Harri O’Connor has been called up to the replacements bench.
England-based tight-head props Archie Griffin and Dillon Lewis are unavailable for the clash, as the match falls outside of World Rugby’s international window. However, head coach Warren Gatland has not yet ruled Thomas out of Wales’ upcoming two-Test summer tour of Australia, with the final 34-man squad to be announced after the South Africa game.
In a further change, Gatland has included Bath wing and rugby league convert Regan Grace in his wider squad, replacing the injured Keelan Giles.
The Wales team to face South Africa is as follows:
- Gareth Thomas
- Dewi Lake
- Keiron Assiratti
- Matthew Screech
- Ben Carter
- Taine Plumtree
- James Botham
- Aaron Wainwright
- Ellis Bevan
- Sam Costelow
- Rio Dyer
- Mason Grady
- Owen Watkin
- Liam Williams
- Cameron Winnett
Replacements:
- Evan Lloyd
- Kemsley Mathias
- Harri O’Connor
- James Ratti
- Mackenzie Martin
- Gareth Davies
- Eddie James
- Jacob Beetham
“We’ve made a few changes to the starting lineup, but the squad is still very strong and ready to take on the world champions,” said Gatland.
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