Wales vs Scotland, Saturday February 3, Principality Stadium, kick-off 4.45pm
Wales centre George North has been ruled out of Saturday’s Six Nations clash against Scotland (4.45pm) because of a shoulder injury.
North, who has won 118 caps and is comfortably the most experienced player in Wales’ Six Nations squad, was hurt during Ospreys’ recent European Challenge Cup victory over South Africa side the Lions.
Owen Watkin and Nick Tompkins will forge Wales’ midfield partnership, with Cardiff fullback Cameron Winnett handed a Test debut after just 15 games of professional rugby.
The 21-year-old features in a position vacated by Liam Williams’s move to Japan, while fullback option Louis Rees-Zammit recently quit rugby union to pursue a possible American football career.
Elsewhere, Winnett’s Cardiff colleague James Botham – grandson of England cricket great Ian Botham – is recalled for a first Wales appearance since July 2021, packing down alongside backrow colleagues Tommy Reffell and Aaron Wainwright.
Dragons prop Leon Brown also starts, with uncapped Cardiff flanker Alex Mann among the replacements, where former Bristol back Ioan Lloyd provides outhalf cover for Sam Costelow.
Racing 92 lock Will Rowlands, whose partner recently gave birth, is not included in the matchday 23, with captain Dafydd Jenkins and Adam Beard forging Wales’ secondrow combination.
Gerry Thornley in Marseille ahead of France vs Ireland
At 21, Exeter forward Jenkins is Wales’ youngest skipper since a 20-year-old Gareth Edwards led Wales against Scotland in 1968.
Wales have beaten Scotland 11 times on the bounce in Cardiff, winning nine Six Nations games, a World Cup warm-up fixture and an autumn Test since the Scots triumphed in April 2002.
But Wales are now without the likes of Rees-Zammit, Williams and long-term injured trio Jac Morgan, Taulupe Faletau and Dewi Lake, while Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny retired from international rugby after the World Cup in France.
Wales coach Warren Gatland said: “Cameron Winnett is just a lovely footballer, and I think he is going to develop into a quality international player in the future.
“He is young and there will be no pressure on him. It is also great that Alex Mann is on the bench, and will hopefully get his debut as well.
“Scotland haven’t won here in a long, long time, and it is an opportunity for us to continue with that record.
“The [stadium] roof is going to be open. Scotland want the roof open, which I think is a little bit disappointing from an atmosphere point of view because when that roof is shut it does tend to create a lot more atmosphere and noise in the stadium. But that is the decision that they made.”
Six Nations regulations state that both teams have to agree in order for the roof to be closed.
Meanwhile outhalf Finn Russell will lead Scotland in the opener in Cardiff on Saturday. Co-captain Rory Darge misses out through injury, though the backrow forward will return for the visit of France on February 10th.
Russell forms a halfback pairing with number nine Ben White, while Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones are reunited in the midfield and there is a back three of wings Duhan van der Merwe and Kyle Steyn, with Kyle Rowe at fullback.
The latter takes the number 15 jersey with Blair Kinghorn ruled out of the first two games of the championship through injury.
The front row of the scrum contains hooker George Turner, with props Pierre Schoeman and Zander Fagerson either side of him. There are two potential prop debuts among the replacements, with Alec Hepburn and Elliot Millar-Mills on the bench.
Richie Gray and Scott Cummings are the lock pairing, while former captain Jamie Ritchie is selected on the side of the scrum alongside fellow flanker Luke Crosbie, with Matt Fagerson at number eight.
WALES: C Winnett (Cardiff); J Adams (Cardiff), O Watkin (Ospreys), N Tompkins (Saracens), R Dyer (Dragons); S Costelow (Scarlets), G Davies (Scarlets); C Domachowski (Cardiff), R Elias (Scarlets), L Brown (Dragons); D Jenkins (Exeter, capt), A Beard (Ospreys); J Botham (Cardiff), T Reffell (Leicester), A Wainwright (Dragons).
Replacements: E Dee (Dragons), K Mathias (Scarlets), K Assiratti (Cardiff), Teddy Williams (Cardiff), A Mann (Cardiff), Tomos Williams (Cardiff), I Lloyd (Scarlets), M Grady (Cardiff).
SCOTLAND: K Rowe; K Steyn, H Jones, S Tuipulotu, D van der Merwe; F Russell (capt), B White; P Schoeman, G Turner, Z Fagerson; R Gray, S Cummings; L Crosbie, J Ritchie, M Fagerson.
Replacements: E Ashman, A Hepburn, E Millar-Mills, S Skinner, J Dempsey, G Horne, B Healy, C Redpath.
Italy vs England, Saturday February 3rd, Stadio Olimpico, kick-off 2.15pm
Alessandro Garbisi takes over at scrumhalf and Tommaso Allan is selected at fullback in the Italy team to face England in Rome in their Six Nations opener on Saturday.
Garbisi is included ahead of Stephen Varney who started three of Italy’s four games at last year’s World Cup, as new head coach Gonzalo Quesada named his first team since taking over from Kieran Crowley.
Quesada named Allan at fullback, making his 80th appearance for Italy, with the other Garbisi brother, Paolo, chosen at outhalf.
Tommaso Menoncello makes a welcome return at centre, having missed the World Cup through injury and lock Federico Ruzza will earn his 50th cap.
“It’s been a busy week of work. There is great enthusiasm throughout the group for the Six Nations opener. The staff and all the players have shown great commitment by trying to quickly dive into new methodologies,” Quesada said.
The new coach has gone with experience in the starting team but has named uncapped prop Mirco Spagnolo on the bench.
England coach Steve Borthwick has gone with the tried and tested option of George Ford at outhalf but has given debuts to centre Fraser Dingwall and flanker Ethan Roots in the team named on Thursday.
With Owen Farrell on a sabbatical and Marcus Smith injured, Ford is preferred at outhalf, with Northampton’s 21-year-old uncapped Fin Smith on the bench. Uncapped winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, also 21, is another of the replacements.
Alex Mitchell has recovered from an infected leg cut to start at scrumhalf, with Danny Care on the bench.
A series of injuries, retirements and unavailability meant that Borthwick’s side was always going to have a new look to that which reached the World Cup semi-finals.
Dingwall will start at inside centre alongside Henry Slade, with Tommy Freeman and Elliot Daly on the wings.
New-Zealand-born Roots is blindside flanker, with Sam Underhill and Ben Earl completing the back row. Uncapped flanker Chandler Cunningham-South is on the bench.
England have lost their opening game in the last four Six Nations and won only two matches in each of the last three seasons, but they have never lost to Italy
ITALY: Tommaso Allan; Ange Capuozzo, Ignacio Brex, Tommaso Menoncello, Monty Ioane; Paolo Garbisi, Alessandro Garbisi; Danilo Fischetti, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Pietro Ceccarelli; Niccolo Cannone, Federico Ruzza; Sebastian Negri, Michele Lamaro, Lorenzo Cannone.
Replacements: Giacomo Nicotera, Mirco Spagnolo, Giosue Zilocchi, Andrea Zambonin, Edoardo Iachizzi, Manuel Zuliani, Stephen Varney, Lorenzo Pani.
ENGLAND: F Steward; T Freeman, H Slade, F Dingwall, E Daly; G Ford, A Mitchell; J Marler, J George (capt), W Stuart; M Itoje, O Chessum; E Roots, S Underhill, B Earl.
Replacements: T Dan, E Genge, D Cole, A Coles, C Cunningham-Smith, D Care, F Smith, I Feyi-Waboso
