The tenure of the Scarlets’ opening half, aged 23, constitutes the only change made on Tuesday by coach Warren Gatland in the Wales XV, compared to the one who conceded a narrow defeat in England (16-14) ago ten days old. She sends her club teammate Ioan Lloyd (22) back to the bench for this match against the Irish, title holders and favorites to succeed them after their very large initial victories against France and Italy. Costelow injured his neck in the first half against Scotland (27-26) in Cardiff and skipped the trip to Twickenham.
“We can’t wait to go to Dublin and test ourselves against one of the best teams in world rugby. It’s a challenge that we relish,” commented Warren Gatland, quoted in a press release from the Welsh federation. “We have made progress over the last two matches and now it is about building on that, learning from those experiences and building on them this weekend,” the New Zealander continued, making “precision” and “discipline” are the key words.
Gatland chose to offer a new start to full-back Cameron Winnett and flanker Alex Mann, novices before the Tournament. In Dublin, center George North will honor his 120th cap with the Leek XV, a bar that only Alun Wyn Jones and Gethin Jenkins have reached before him in the national jersey.
Composition of the Wales XV against Ireland:
Winnett – Adams, North, Tompkins, Dyer – (o) Costelow, (m) Williams – Reffell, Wainwright, Mann – Beard, Jenkins (cap.) – Assiratti, Dee, Thomas
Remplaçants: Elias, Domachowski, Lewis, Rowlands, Martin, Hardy, Lloyd, Grady
