Wing Gabriel Hamer-Webb will make his Wales debut with Sam Costelow given a chance to stake his claim at fly half in the Six Nations clash with Scotland in Cardiff.
Hamer-Webb, who has been in good recent form for Leicester, replaces Ellis Mee in the back three as Costelow is given the nod ahead of Dan Edwards at No 10 in an all-Scarlets midfield.
Up front, Ben Carter partners Dafydd Jenkins while Taine Plumtree provides extra size and mobility on the blindside.
Lock Freddie Thomas, flanker James Botham and full-back Blair Murray are all in line for their first appearances of the campaign from the bench as Wales seek a first Six Nations win since 2023.
“There are some changes to the team this week,” head coach Steve Tandy explained after heavy defeats to England and France to open the championship. “We feel this is the best team to take on Scotland and with a six-day turnaround you want some freshness as well going into the game.
"It’s our third game of the championship. We want to build on our performance. We want to see more consistent moments and back-to-back moments, which we feel if we get we'll be closer to getting the outcome we want from games."
Bath-born wing Hamer-Webb has taken an alternative route into the Welsh set-up, having trials with Southampton as a teenage footballer before a nomadic rugby career that included a stint with Southland in New Zealand.
He joined Leicester from Cardiff at the start of the season and earned a contract extension in December despite limited opportunities behind Adam Radwan and Ollie Hassell-Collins, though has since impressed after increased playing time following an injury to the former.
Of Hamer-Webb, Tandy added: “Gabe has really impressed me in the way he's attacked training, the way he's learnt, the way he's adapted and the way he's just settled into the squad. His training efforts have been outstanding.
"Then when you dig into his background at Leicester, even when he wasn't in the team, everyone said he was an amazing team player. He also kept pushing, he never gave up and then when he had his Leicester opportunity he took it with two hands and now this opportunity has come up and it’s thoroughly deserved."
Scotland ended a 22-year wait for a win in Cardiff on their last visit to the Principality Stadium, though almost squandered a 27-point lead on that day in 2024.
Tandy was previously Gregor Townsend’s defence coach before taking charge of Wales last summer.
Wales XV to face Scotland in Cardiff (Saturday 21 February, 4.40pm GMT): 1 Rhys Carre, 2 Dewi Lake (capt.), 3 Tomas Francis; 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 5 Ben Carter; 6 Taine Plumtree, 7 Alex Mann, 8 Aaron Wainwright; 9 Tomos Williams, 10 Sam Costelow; 11 Josh Adams, 12 Joe Hawkins, 13 Eddie James, 14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb; 15 Louis Rees-Zammit.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 James Botham; 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Blair Murray.
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