No secrecy!
Four days before the fourth day of the 2024 Six Nations Tournament, Wales coach Warren Gatland revealed the composition of the Leek XV which will start at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff against the France XV.
Captain Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs) is lined up as a third wing row, he who also plays in the second row.
To replace him, Will Rowlands (Racing 92) comes off the bench and joins the starting XV.
Alex Mann (Cardiff) pays for this tactical readjustment and starts on the bench for the second time in the competition.
The fight between the Welsh and French centers presents itself as one of the keys to the match, “a physical and difficult challenge to overcome”, commented Warren Gatland in a press release from his federation.
As a result, porous against Ireland, the pair Joe Hawkins - Mason Grady is dismissed.
The remodeled pair of centers
The coach chose to commission Owen Watkin (Ospreys) and the young Joe Roberts (Scarlets, 24 years old) so as not to repeat the errors made on February 24 in Dublin (31-7).
“There are some changes to the squad this week because some players deserve the opportunity,” Gatland said.
The most experienced George North (119 caps) and Nick Tompkins (34 caps) leave the match sheet.
🏴 The composition of Wales to challenge France this Sunday 💪#GALFRA |
#SixNationsRugby pic.twitter.com/BdUiQowXgP
— Six Nations (FR) (@SixNations_FR) March 6, 2024
Wales lost their first three matches in the 2024 Six Nations Tournament: 26-27 against Scotland, 14-16 against England and 31-7 against Ireland.
For its part, the French XV lost heavily against Ireland (17-38) at the start of the competition, before beating Scotland (20-16) and conceding a disappointing draw against Italy ( 13-13): the first result without a victory for the Blues against their transalpine neighbors in eleven years.
An indicator that commands optimism, the France team remains on five consecutive victories against Wales.
The last setback dates back to October 20, 2019, in the quarter-final of the World Cup in Japan (20-19).
Composition of the Wales XV against France
Winnett - Adams, Roberts, Watkin, Dyer - (o) Costelow, (m) Williams - Reffell, Wainwright, Jenkins (cap.) - Beard, Rowlands - Assiratti, Elias, Thomas.
Subs: Dee, Domachowski, Lewis, Mann, Martin, Davies, Lloyd, Grady.