Adams to start against England

Warriors wing Josh Adams will win his ninth Wales cap against England in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations match against England at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff (kick-off 4.45pm).

Adams scored his first Six Nations try in the 26-15 victory over Italy in Rome two weeks ago and was also on the scoresheet for Warriors when he returned to club duty in the Gallagher Premiership at Harlequins last Saturday.

The 23-year-old Adams is one of only four players in the side named to face England who started against Italy.

But Adams will not face his Warriors team-mate Ben Te’o in Cardiff. Te’o, who missed England’s first two Six Nations matches because of a side strain, was retained in a 25-strong squad to prepare for Wales but he has been left out of the final matchday squad of 23. Te’o will be a travelling reserve in Cardiff.

Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland said: “We are really happy with the experience we have got in the side. We have been on the road for the first two weeks, we are looking forward to being back at home and to build on those first two wins and to build on our performance.

“We’ve had a great two-week lead up to this game, we’ve looked really sharp and the squad are incredibly motivated to kick on.

“We know how important this game is for the rest of the championship. It’s a massive challenge playing against an England team that is playing really well and with a lot of confidence and we’ve got to make it difficult for them on Saturday.

“We are looking forward to it and we know the Welsh fans are too and it’s going to be a huge weekend in the Six Nations.”

Meanwhile Warriors hooker Joe Taufete’e will have to wait a little longer for the opportunity to set a new record for tries by a front row forward in international rugby.

Taufete’e drew level with former Ireland hooker Keith Wood when he crossed for his 15th try in USA’s victory over Chile in their opening Americas Rugby Championship match in Santiago three weeks ago.

But Taufete’e suffered a minor knee injury in the non-cap match against an Argentina XV two weeks ago and he has been ruled out of Saturday’s match against Brazil in Austin.

Wales | 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Gareth Davies, 1 Rob Evans, 2 Ken Owens, 3  Tomas Francis, 4 Cory Hill, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (C), 6 Josh Navidi, 7 Justin Tipuric, 8 Ross Moriarty.

Replacements | 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21  Aled Davies, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Owen Watkin.

 

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