Warren Gatland has said he is thinking about the World Cup rather than the match against England in Cardiff this month after making 10 changes from the side that defeated France last week for the match against Italy in Rome on Saturday.
Jonathan Davies becomes the first back to lead Wales in a Six Nations match in the 12th and final season of the Gatland era, which started at Twickenham in 2008. The British & Irish Lions centre is one of three backs who started the 24-19 victory in Paris – Liam Williams and Josh Adams are the others – while Leicester’s Jonah Holmes will make his first appearance in the tournament having made his international debut in the autumn.
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The two survivors at forward are the second-row Adam Beard and Josh Navidi, who moves from wing forward to No 8. The Wasps flanker Thomas Young will make his Six Nations debut and the back row is completed by Adam Wainwright, who won his first cap last summer less than a year after making his first appearance for the Dragons having dreamed of a career as a professional footballer.
With the scrum-half Aled Davies starting, along with the prop Nicky Smith, and Ryan Elias, Dillon Lewis and Hallam Amos on the bench, Gatland has used all the 31 players who were involved in the training camp in Nice this week in the opening two rounds, using the away matches as a dry run for the World Cup in Japan later this year.
“Things can happen in a World Cup and with players like George North, Justin Tipuric and Cory Hill picking up knocks last week, it is a case of managing them and we always intended to include the eight players who were not involved last Friday,” said Gatland. “Everyone knows they are continually playing for World Cup places and having the first two games away from home, we were able to have a mini camp and replicate some of the issues we will face in Japan.”
Gatland, like other coaches, has in the past used the match against Italy to rest some of his leading players, a policy that has yet to backfire although some finishes in the first half of his stint as head coach were closer than he had envisaged. The clash with England will have an influence on the destiny of the Six Nations, but he said it had no bearing on selection.
“The Six Nations is a really important competition for us,” he said. “Italy are going to be tough and we know it is going to be a massive challenge. We have not spoken about England at all. The focus last week was France and getting the victory we knew would tee us up for the Six Nations and this week it has been about Italy, who looked dangerous in the final 20 minutes in Scotland.“I think they will play against us because they are threatening with the ball in hand. We have been involved in matches in Rome which were close and tight and Australia found that last November. We have to stay in the arm wrestle, create chances and take them.”
Davies becomes only the second back to be appointed captain by Gatland – his former Scarlets midfielder Scott Williams was the other in a pre-World Cup friendly against Ireland in 2015. Jamie Roberts led Wales in their 2017 tour matches against Tonga and Samoa, but Gatland was then involved with the Lions in New Zealand.
“Jonathan has been around for a number of years, already brings a lot of leadership to the team and he is very vocal,” said Gatland. “He was the obvious choice looking at that group of players and it is recognition of what he has achieved in the game.”
Conor O’Shea, meanwhile, has made only two changes from the team that lost 33-20 to Scotland, both enforced through illness. Nicola Quaglio comes into the front row in place of Andrea Lovotti, who misses out because of a bout of flu. Michele Campagnaro moves from wing to centre to replace Tommaso Castello, who is also sick which allows Edoardo Padovani, one of the try scorers last week, to come into the starting XV. Italy are on a losing run of 17 matches in the Six Nations. They have won twice in their past 26 games against the Welsh, both in Rome back in 2003 and 2007.