Wales Aim to Level Series in Melbourne
The Wales national rugby union team has travelled to Melbourne, Australia, where they will attempt to level the ongoing two-Test series against the Wallabies next Saturday. The tourists were initially considering naming their team lineup early in the week but have now decided to announce the squad on Thursday.
There are injury concerns surrounding several key players, including full-back Liam Williams, prop Gareth Thomas, and number eight Aaron Wainwright. However, prop Sam Griffin is expected to feature again after Wales head coach Warren Gatland described his performance in the first Test as “outstanding”.
Gatland acknowledged that the tight-head prop position remains a problem area as he searches for a successor to Tomas Francis, who is currently unavailable for selection after moving to play club rugby in France last year. Several other players, including Henry Thomas, Keiron Assiratti, and Leon Brown, were ruled out of the summer tour due to injury, while Dillon Lewis was unavailable for the first Test.
“I got a lot of game time so I was chuffed to bits,” said Sam Griffin after the first Test against the Wallabies. “It has been a while since I played 74 minutes, probably a university game.”
These absentees paved the way for Griffin, who came through the Welsh Exiles programme and represented Wales at the under-18 and under-20 levels before rising through the ranks at Bath. Griffin had never started a professional game before last weekend, with only 191 minutes of replacement appearances for Bath in the 2023-24 season. His Test debut against England at Twickenham in February was also cut short due to injury.
The upcoming match in Melbourne will provide a crucial opportunity for the inexperienced Wales side, currently being blooded by Gatland, to level the series against the Wallabies.
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