Wales Recalls Ellis Mee, As Steve Tandy Makes Changes For Ireland Test
Wales Recalls Ellis Mee, As Steve Tandy Makes Changes For Ireland Test
Wales recall Ellis Mee and makes three changes for its Six Nations clash with Ireland in Dublin, with Dan Edwards starting at fly-half.
Wales head coach Steve Tandy has made three changes to his starting XV for Friday night’s Guinness Six Nations clash against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium as his side looks to build on signs of improvement from a narrow defeat to Scotland.
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Scarlets wing Ellis Mee returns to the starting lineup, while Ospreys fly-half Dan Edwards and Cardiff flanker James Botham also come into the side for the Round 4 meeting in Dublin.
The trio replace Gabriel Hamer Webb, the injured Sam Costelow, and Taine Plumtree, respectively, with Tandy also making a positional adjustment in the back row. Alex Mann shifts from openside flanker to blindside, allowing Botham to start at No. 7 alongside Mann and No. 8 Aaron Wainwright.
Mee, who started Wales’ opening two matches against England and France, was left out of the 26-23 loss to Scotland but has been handed another opportunity after what Tandy described as encouraging earlier performances.
“There are a couple of enforced changes this week due to injury, and then Ellis had played well in the opening couple of rounds, so we feel he deserves the opportunity again,” Tandy said.
Edwards returns at fly-half after Costelow suffered an ankle injury following his promising showing against Scotland. The Ospreys playmaker will partner Tomos Williams in the halfbacks, while Jarrod Evans again provides cover from the replacements bench.
Wales’ back line features Louis Rees Zammit at fullback, with Mee and Josh Adams on the wings. Eddie James and Joe Hawkins continue their partnership in midfield.
Up front, Dewi Lake captains the side from hooker, packing down between props Rhys Carre and Tomas Francis. Dafydd Jenkins and Ben Carter start in the second row, while Mann, Botham and Wainwright form the back row.
Among the replacements, Bath center Louie Hennessey could earn his first senior cap for Wales after being named on the bench.
Hennessey was part of the squad during the autumn, but he did not feature, and Tandy believes the 21-year-old has impressed in training, despite a hand injury earlier in the campaign.
“Louie was unfortunate not to get his opportunity in the autumn, but he’s trained really well,” Tandy said. “He had a bit of a bump on his hand at the start of this campaign, but the way he’s recovered and put performances in the training environment has been very impressive. We’re all excited to see Louie go out in Dublin.”
Adam Beard and Olly Cracknell also return to the matchday squad as forward reinforcements on the bench.
Wales heads to Dublin searching for its first Six Nations victory in three years and hoping to halt a difficult run of results that has seen losses in 24 of the team's last 26 internationals.
Despite that record, Tandy believes his side took positives from the performance against Scotland and wants to see further progress against an Irish team still in contention for the championship.
“This week it’s about backing up the performance against Scotland,” he said. “Going away from home is a different type of environment for our group, but the focus for us is really improving on what we did last game.
“I thought the defense against Scotland was much improved, so we definitely want to double down on that going to Ireland. You see how they keep the ball in possession, they play lots of passes, so we know we’re going to have to build and improve from the other week.”
Ireland opened the tournament with a loss to France but has since beaten Italy and England to keep the Irish title hopes alive heading into Friday’s meeting in Dublin.
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