The autumn international against Tier Two opposition is traditionally the fixture where Wales make wholesale changes and unleash a host of fresh faces.
But coach Wayne Pivac has resisted going down that route for Saturday’s Principality Stadium clash with Georgia. Instead, he has stayed true to what he said on the weekend by going with the core of the side that will face Australia in next week’s campaign finale.
He has made six changes from the team that claimed a much-needed 20-13 victory over Argentina, but if you look at them they are certainly not all new kids on the block.
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In fact, three of the players coming in are highly experienced Test campaigners in the shape of Rhys Priestland, Owen Watkin and the fit-again Josh Adams, who have no fewer than 131 caps between them.
As for the rookies, well you are limited to just the three, with second row Ben Carter and flanker Jac Morgan making rare starts, while there is finally a first cap for the persevering Josh Macleod at No 8.
So what are we to make of all this? Well to start with, victories have been few and far between this year and Pivac is patently not keen to take any chances as he looks for another one. Moreover, it does give us a pretty good idea of what the side to face the Wallabies will look like.
As the Kiwi coach puts it: “The spine of the team is there. It’s very much about the here and now, we’ve got a game to play against Georgia and we have to be successful. But there’s also an eye to the Australia match.”
With that in mind, there are still some selections to be decided and places up for grabs this weekend ahead of the meeting with the visitors from Down Under.
We know there will have to be a change at full-back, with Gloucester’s Louis Rees-Zammit unavailable for the out-of-window campaign conclusion as he is based in England. So he gets an opportunity to build on his encouraging first outing at 15 and then it will be over to someone else to occupy the position in the Aussie game.
Leigh Halfpenny, the man who had originally been due to start the autumn opener against New Zealand, will be the favourite to take on that role as he is over his hamstring issue and fit to take a seat on the bench versus the Georgians.
That being the case, it would then be two from Adams - now recovered from a thumb fracture - Alex Cuthbert and the rested Rio Dyer for the wing berths.
In the centre, the reliable Watkin has the chance to challenge Nick Tompkins for the job of partnering George North, while the No 10 jersey remains up for grabs and undecided in the absence of Dan Biggar.
Priestland, Sam Costelow and Gareth Anscombe have all had time at fly-half so far during this campaign. Now it’s Priestland who starts this Saturday, having come on for Anscombe to navigate the ship home against the Pumas, while Costelow will get the chance to earn a second cap off the bench and demonstrate his abundant talent.
Another sub with itchy feet will be Dane Blacker who is on course to make his Test debut as back-up to Tomos Williams, who is now firmly established as the first-choice scrum-half, with the revolving door there now a thing of the past.
Turning to the forwards, lock is an interesting one, as Alun Wyn Jones is again absent, while Will Rowlands is out for the rest of the autumn with a shoulder injury. So it’s the 21-year-old Carter who will win his eighth cap alongside Adam Beard in the boilerhouse, with uncapped teenager Dafydd Jenkins lined up to make his Test bow as a sub following his call-up to the squad.
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There will be much anticipation surrounding Jenkins, who is only 19 but was last week chosen to skipper Exeter in the Premiership, a statement about just how highly thought of he is at Sandy Park. The son of former Swansea and Scarlets back row Hywel, Bridgend-born Dafydd is a major talent. As Pivac says, there aren’t many players like him in Wales, with his 6ft 7ins, 17st 13lbs frame giving him a real physical presence to complement his athleticism, not to mention the maturity and leadership skills he shows for such a young man.
Like Rees-Zammit, the Devon-based Jenkins won’t be available for the Australia game under PRL release rules, so Alun Wyn will doubtless come back into the 23 for that encounter. The question is whether the great man, now 37, starts that match. You would think that’s the likeliest outcome, but this is now a big opportunity for Carter to show he is ready to step up to the big league.
Pivac has said in the past that the Sussex-born former Caldicot School pupil has all the credentials to be a long-term replacement for Alun Wyn, describing him as “a fabulous young player”. Whether the long-term has now arrived will become clearer over the next week or so.
Finally there’s the back row, where Macleod will become the 1,182nd senior Welsh international. It’s a debut that few will begrudge given everything the 26-year-old Scarlets breakaway has been through. There have been assorted injury setbacks along the way, most painfully the ruptured Achilles that ruled him out of the Scotland game in the 2021 Six Nations after he had been pencilled in to start at No 6 at Murrayfield.
Pivac coached him at regional level and is a fan, citing his energy, his strength over the ball and his ability to cover the entire back row. That versatility is demonstrated by him packing down at No 8 and he is clearly seen as the current back-up to Taulupe Faletau in that position.
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Faletau, who has been in such outstanding form, will obviously return to the base of the scrum next week, providing he comes through a sub’s outing unscathed on Saturday. That leaves it as something of a shoot-out between Morgan and Macleod to complete the back row against Australia, with skipper Justin Tipuric nailed on along with Faletau.
Morgan is in the driving seat at present after his excellent display in the win over Argentina, with the man he took over from, Dan Lydiate, ruled out with a broken forearm, while Christ Tshiunza and Tommy Reffell, who have had their own injury issues, are unavailable for the finale due to playing in England.
So there you have it. It’s Georgia on their minds for now, but there’s also very much one eye on the men from Down Under.
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