Wales head coach Warren Gatland has made one change to his starting XI ahead of their Six Nations clash with reigning champions Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.
The Championship returns for round three this weekend, with action beginning on Saturday with this mouth-watering contest led by Gatland and Andy Farrell.
As previously mentioned, there was one change to Wales' starting team that faced England at Twickenham on February 10th, with Sam Costelow returning to Wales wearing the number 10 shirt.
Costrow starts at 10am
Costelow will start alongside Tomos Williams at half-back, with Nick Tompkins and George North once again forming a formidable combination in the centre.
Youngster Cameron Wynnett will also retain his place at full-back, with Josh Adams and Rio Dyer joining the back three, a lethal trio looking set to do some damage.
Up front, prop duo Gareth Thomas and Keiron Assilatti flank hooker Elliott Dee, with captain Dafydd Jenkins in the second row alongside Adam Beard.
Completing the starting XI is a back row trio of Alex Mann, Tommy Leffell and Aaron Wainwright, with Welsh fans expecting flanker Leffell to be a nuisance on the ground.
Among the replacements is back-rower Mackenzie Martin, who will earn his first senior cap on Saturday, becoming the 1,200th player to represent Wales for men.
Elsewhere, tighthead prop Dillon Lewis will make his first appearance in this year's Six Nations if he is called up from the bench, while Ioan Lloyd will wear number 22.
“We are excited to go to Dublin and test ourselves against one of the leading teams in world rugby. We are enjoying this challenge,” emphasized Wales head coach Gatland. did.
“We've made progress over the last few games, so now it's about building on that, learning from that experience and taking that into this weekend.
“It's about continuing to work hard, being precise in your 80-minute performance and being disciplined.”
Sam Costelow will return to the number 10 shirt for Wales when they face Grand Slam favorites Ireland this weekend. #IREvWAL #Guinness M6N pic.twitter.com/Kp1VOKnGhB
— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 20, 2024
Wales national team plays against Ireland
Wales: 15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Leffel, 6 Alex Leffel. Mann, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Keiron Assilatti, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacement: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Corey Domakowski, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Will Roland, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Yoan Lloyd, 23 Mason Grady
date: Saturday, February 24th
venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
kick off: 14:15 GMT
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referee: Carl Dixon (England), Gianluca Gnecki (Italy)
TMO: Eric Gauzan (France)
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