Wales have named their team for the opening Six Nations game against Scotland at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Gloucester star Ross Moriarty will start at number eight but Owen Williams has been left out of the matchday squad.
Moriarty returned from injury earlier this month to go straight into the Wales squad having made just three appearances for Gloucester this season and he has been deemed match-fit enough to start in the position where he thrived in last season's Six Nations.
Williams impressed at inside centre during the autumn internationals but Hadleigh Parkes has been preferred there having scored twice on his debut against South Africa.
He was also overlooked for his preferred position at fly-half with Dan Biggar out injured as Scarlets' Rhys Patchell was given the nod.
Former on-loan Cinderford wing Josh Adams will start on his Test debut but Gloucester-born Alex Cuthbert misses out.
Check out more on the team news in our blog below. You can give your thoughts by sending a Tweet to @robsportstwit or @sportgloslive or sending a comment to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GlosLiveSport/
Key Events
Why Owen Williams hasn't been picked
It doesn’t help when you’ve got to go back. When you’re not available in the fallow weeks, there is definitely an advantage to the Welsh-based players. You don’t have a huge amount of preparation time so you need to prioritise. There’s going to be a slight disadvantage, particularly for players who haven’t been in the squad for a very long time.”
Gatland on Moriarty and the back row
It’s great to see Moriarty back and playing rugby. It gives us another option to look at at 8. Shingler has been in great form. The number seven jersey was a big debate. Navidi was outstanding in the autumn and he deserves to retain that jersey. Having TIpuric on the bench, we know the quality he brings. We’ve been pleased with Davies and Jenkins as well.”
Warren Gatland on Josh Adams
He’s done well, he’s top try scorer in the Premiership The advantage that he’s had is that he’s been playing regularly. Halfpenny, Amos haven’t had much rugby. Steff Evans has been out for a bit. It’s a great chance for him. We’ve been having a look at him recently. He’s been starting regularly and scoring tries, he’s got to take a lot of credit for that. We’ve been impressed with him since he’s been in camp.”
Wales lineup and caps
Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets) (74 Caps)
Josh Adams (Worcester) (*UNCAPPED)
Scott Williams (Scarlets) (51 Caps)
Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets) (1 Cap)
Steff Evans (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Gareth Davies (Scarlets) (27 Caps)
Rob Evans (Scarlets) (20 Caps)
Ken Owens (Scarlets) (52 Caps)
Samson Lee (Scarlets) (34 Caps)
Cory Hill (Dragons) (10 Caps)
Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys) (113 Caps) CAPT
Aaron Shingler (Scarlets) (13 Caps)
Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues) (7 Caps)
Ross Moriarty (Gloucester) (17 Caps)
Replacements:
Elliot Dee (Dragons) (2 Caps)
Wyn Jones (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs) (26 Caps)
Bradley Davies (Ospreys) (57 Caps)
Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) (52 Caps)
Aled Davies (Scarlets) (5 Caps)
Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues) (11 Caps)
Owen Watkin (Ospreys) (2 Caps)
Gatland on Josh Adams
The first-up game against Scotland this weekend is really important for us and this is a great chance for this group of players to get us off to a good start.
We have been watching Josh (Adams) closely, he is top try scorer in the English Premiership and has been going well and we are excited for him.”
Williams not considered at 10
It sounds like it was a straight fight between Gareth Anscombe and Rhys Patchell to play at 10 with the Scarlets man getting the nod and the Blues man on the bench. Hadleigh Parkes has been chosen ahead of Williams at 12.
Both Rhys (Patchell) and Gareth (Anscombe) have been training really well over the last couple of weeks. It was a tough call between them, Rhys has started most of his games for the Scarlets at ten, we are really happy with his form and the combination with Gareth at nine.
For this opening game, we looked at a lot of combinations, especially the front-row. It is exciting to see Samson back playing well and the familiarity of the Scarlets front-row will be important.”
Warren Gatland
Warren Gatland on Moriarty
“We know what a quality player Ross is, it’s great he is back and available and we are looking forward to seeing his explosive ball carrying on Saturday.”
Ross Moriarty starts
The Gloucester star has obviously done enough to convince Gatland of his fitness as he will start at number eight.
Owen Williams is not in the 23 though.
Former Cinderford loan player Josh Adams will make his debut and has been named in the starting lineup.
Alex Cuthbert misses out altogether.
Has Owen Williams done enough?
We’ll find out shortly and, if he is in the team, where will the Gloucester man play? He’s been used at 10 mostly by Johan Ackermann, rotating with Billy Burns. He’s scored 58 points in 11 appearances for the club (7 starts) and was man of the match in the Challenge Cup win over Agen earlier this month.
Prediction for Saturday's game
According to the QBE Rugby Predictor, the most likely result is a 23-19 win for Wales against Scotland.
They have taken a complex mathematical formula and computer model normally used in their day jobs – predicting the likelihood of earthquakes and floods – and used it to simulate the tournament 10,000 times to produce outcomes from 150,000 different games.
According to their calculations, England have a 40 per cent chance of winning the Six Nations, just ahead of Ireland on 38 per cent.
Wales are forecast to come third with a 12% chance of lifting the trophy, Scotland fourth on 7%, followed by France (3%) and lastly Italy, who have been given zero chance of winning.
Will Moriarty prove his fitness?
Ross Moriarty has played just 187 minutes of rugby for Gloucester this season and is yet to play a full 80-minute game. It would be a big ask for him to play the whole game against Scotland but he did come back at the right time by playing in the European Challenge Cup games against Agen and Pau.
He last played for Wales in the final game of last year’s Six Nations against France.
Wing men
As well as the Gloucester players in the squad, there’s local interest in Josh Adams and Alex Cuthbert.
Adams spent time on loan at Cinderford in 2016 and could make his Wales debut this weekend after his fine form for Worcester, which has seen him score nine tries in 13 games this season.
Cuthbert’s return to form with Cardiff Blues could see him win his 49th cap but it if George North is passed fit he is likely to start with Hallam Amos, while Steff Evans is also in contention.
Pressure on Wales
Writing in his column, Gloucester great Peter Butler said:
The pressure will be on Wales to win at home, while the Scots have several times threatened a resurgence as a world rugby power and will be desperate to make a definitive statement in the Six Nations.”
Williams backed to start at 10 by Lions legend
A lot of the debate in the build-up to the team selection for Wales has been who will play at fly-half in the absence of Dan Biggar.
There have been no better 10s than Barry John to represent the country and he’s thrown his backing behind Gloucester’s Owen Williams.
I’d stick with Williams, who brought a new facet to Wales’ play in the autumn and deserves his chance as principal playmaker.
His influence on the team will be pivotal. Because of what comes up immediately after, Wales simply cannot afford to get off to a losing start.”
Good morning
Welcome to our live blog of the Wales team announcement, which we’re expecting at midday.
Owen Williams and Ross Moriarty are the only Gloucester players who could feature in the opening weekend of the Six Nations as it stands so it will be interesting to see where they fit into Warren Gatland’s plans.
You’d expect both to be in the 23-man squad if not in the starting lineup.
