A much-changed Wales lineup will be out to prove their worth against Georgia at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
Wales 1/33 | Draw 40/1 | Georgia 10/1
Handicap
Wales (-20.5) 9/10 | Georgia (+20.5) 9/10
Wayne Pivac has named a matchday squad very much aimed at blooding his fringe players ahead of next year’s World Cup. Of the 23, eight have fewer than 10 caps to their name, while three are uncapped altogether; Scarlets No 8 Josh Macleod gets his shot in the run-on XV while lock Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs) and scrumhalf Dane Blacker (Scarlets) could make their debuts off the bench.
The Dragons bounced back from their hefty defeat to the All Blacks with a very good 20-13 win over a tough old Argentine outfit last week. While the year has been far from an easy one for Pivac’s men, another win here would tee them up nicely ahead of their clash with the Wallabies.
Justin Tipuric skippers the side once more and he, alongside fellow veterans George North, Ken Owens and Rhys Priestland, will be tasked with setting the tone for the fresh faces.
New Game Week underway 💪
— Georgian Rugby (@GeorgianRugby) November 14, 2022
🏴 Wales v Georgia 🇬🇪 | 19/11, 17:00
LIVE 🔴 TV Imedi & რაგბი TV/Rugby TV pic.twitter.com/LeOC97fyFg
Georgia though are far from easy beats. They’ll bring their trademark physicality to the Principality and challenge the hosts at scrum time and in the tackle. So far this November, Levan Maisashvili’s boys have seen off Uruguay (34-18) before falling to Samoa 19-20 last week, but they’ll be eager to steal a first win over the Welsh in what will be the fourth meeting between the sides.
If the Borjgalosnebi can rattle some of the Welsh newcomers early on it could be a close one, but ultimately the home team’s superior quality should see them claim a victory without clearing a pretty hefty handicap.
Teams
Wales
1 Gareth Thomas (Ospreys), 2 Ken Owens (Scarlets), 3 Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Rugby), 4 Ben Carter (Dragons), 5 Adam Beard (Ospreys) 6 Jac Morgan (Ospreys), 7 Justin Tipuric (Captain, Ospreys), 8 Josh Macleod (Scarlets)*
9 Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby), 10 Rhys Priestland (Cardiff Rugby), 11 Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby), 12 Owen Watkin (Ospreys), 13 George North (Ospreys), 14 Alex Cuthbert (Ospreys), 15 Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby)
Subs: 16 Bradley Roberts (Dragons), 17 Rhodri Jones (Dragons), 18 Sam Wainwright (Saracens), 19 Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs)*, 20 Taulupe Faletau (Cardiff Rugby), 21 Dane Blacker (Scarlets)*, 22 Sam Costelow (Scarlets), 23 Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets)
* Denotes uncapped player
Georgia
15-Davit Niniashvili, 14-Mirian Modebadze, 13-Deme Tafladze, 12-Merab Sharikadze, 11-Sandro Todua, 10-Tedo Abzhandadze, 9-Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8-Tornike Jalaghonia, 7-Beka Gorgadze, 6-Beka Saghinadze, 5-Kote Mikoutadze, 4-Nodar Cheishvili, 3-Guram Papidze, 2-Giorgi Chakoidze, 1-Guram Gogichashvili
Subs: 16-Shalva Mamukashvili, 17-Nika Abuladze, 18-Aleksandre Kuntelia, 19-Lado Chachanidze, 20-Sandro Mamamvarishvili, 21-Luka Matkava, 22-Lasha Khmaladze, 23-Lasha Lomidze.
