Dan Biggar to lead his country for the first time as Wales start their Six Nations campaign
Wales will begin their Six Nations campaign today (January 5th) with fly-half Dan Biggar leading the team for the first time.
Wayne Pivac's team will face Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin at 2.15pm in the opening round of the 2022 rugby tournament.
Captain Dan Biggar will start at outside half with Tomos Williams at scrum half.
On Biggar’s appointment, Pivac said: “In terms of captaincy, we’ve named Dan Biggar.
“With the experience missing, we wanted someone who had experienced the competition on a number of occasions and knows the rigours of it.
“He gives us that. He has 95 Wales caps and he has toured with the British and Irish Lions.
“Dan has the respect of the other players and management, so we think he will do a great job.”
Biggar takes over from an injured Alun Wyn Jones, who is among a number of high-profile absentees.
Jones has undergone two shoulder operations since being hurt during Wales’ Autumn Nations Series opener against New Zealand in October.
The 32-year-old said he was "very proud" to be leading his team.
He said: "I'm proud but I said to Wayne the first time he asked me, I don't want it to change who I am as a person, I just want to lead by example.
"I hope that the feeling I'm going to get walking out on Saturday is going to be huge pride and excitement but I think the biggest thing for me is making sure that my job as a 10 and as a general is above captaincy."
Biggar also said that lifting the trophy for Wales "would be a fairytale" and that he would "trade 50 caps in tomorrow if it meant (Wales) could lift that trophy on the final weekend".
Report by Beth Fisher
Josh Adams will also make his first international start at centre, partnering with Nick Tompkins at midfield.
The 26-year-old was selected to play in the number 13 jersey against Fiji in November 2021 but was forced to pull out just before kick-off due to an injury.
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac said: “We’ve selected Josh Adams at 13. It’s something we’ve been thinking about for a while. He’s done it in training and in small doses at the end of a game. We think this is a golden opportunity to answer that question."
In the second row, Will Rowlands returns to the starting line up alongside vice-captain Adam Beard who started all four of Wales’ Autumn Nations Series matches.
Ryan Elias also starts his fifth consecutive match for Wales at hooker and lines up alongside Wyn Jones and Tomas Francis in the front row.
Taine Basham will also make his Six Nations debut, joining Ellis Jenkins and Aaron Wainwright in the back row.
The back three starting the match against Ireland will be Louis Rees-Zammit, Johnny McNicholl and Liam Williams.
Gareth Thomas and Taine Basham will make their Six Nations debuts if they come off the bench. Dillon Lewis provides the remaining front-row cover with Ben Carter completing the forward contingent.
Gareth Davies, Callum Sheedy and Owen Watkin, who returns to the Wales match day squad for the first time since playing against Scotland in last year’s Championship, provide the back-line cover.
Dewi Lake is on the bench but could win his first cap for Wales as a replacement while Ross Moriarty could receive his 50th cap for his country if he plays in Dublin.
Speaking ahead of the game, Pivac said: “Really pleased for Ross. He’s wrapped to be back in the match day 23 and I think it’s just really around game time at the moment. We think coming off the bench he’ll make an impact, so that’s why we’ve gone that way.
“Really happy for Dewi. He’s a big man, a very good rugby player. Strong over the ball and gives us something in defence as well as his attacking prowess.
“History in Dublin, it’s a hard place to go. There have been some great games in recent years against Ireland.
“They’re a very, very tough, very physical side. So we know we’re going to have to step up in that area of the game and make sure we do that for 80 mins. We’ve got to be very disciplined and as a result be in there fighting for the right result.”
Other players not part of the squad due to injuries include Alun Wyn Jones’ fellow British and Irish Lions George North, Leigh Halfpenny, Ken Owens, Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau.