Wales' Louis Rees-Zammit shifts position again to face Fiji

Louis Rees-Zammit is back in his favoured wing position for Wales’ Nations Championship opener against Fiji.

Rees-Zammit started all five Six Nations games at full-back this year after playing out wide in the Autumn internationals following his return from an 18-month spell in the NFL.

But the 25-year-old Bristol flier – who did not add to his 16-try Wales tally at full-back – ended the domestic season on the wing after telling Bears coach Pat Lam that it was his preferred position.

With their England and France-based players available, Wales make six changes after beating Barbarians 33-31 in an uncapped fixture at Allianz Stadium last weekend.

Rees-Zammit is joined by fellow wing Josh Adams and Tomos Williams in the back division, while prop Rhys Carre, second-row Adam Beard and flanker Alex Mann come into the pack.

Fixture

Nations Championship

Fiji

06:10

4 Jul 26

Wales

All Stats and Data

Tandy said: “It’s been awesome to get back into camp and get ready for games.

“We want to keep building on the Six Nations and from last weekend as well. We’ve created a lot of momentum and we’re looking to hit the ground running on Saturday.

“We love to be in Wales playing games and we’re excited to be in Cardiff to start the Nations Championship.”

Wales ended the Six Nations with a home victory over Italy to record their first win in the tournament for three years.

Beating the Barbarians saw Wales claim back-to-back wins for the first time since the 2023 World Cup.

The build-up to the Fiji game has seen the Wales squad in dispute with the Welsh Rugby Union over match fees.

But the WRU said on Wednesday evening that the issue had been resolved and that training preparations had not been affected ahead of the new competition.

Wales: B Murray (Scarlets), L Rees-Zammit (Bristol), E James, J Hawkins (both Scarlets), J Adams (Cardiff), D Edwards (Ospreys), T Williams (Saracens), R Carre (Saracens), D Lake (Gloucester, capt), D Lewis, B Carter (both Dragons), A Beard (Montpellier), A Mann (Cardiff), J Morgan (Gloucester), A Wainwright (Leicester).

Replacements: R Elias (Scarlets), N Smith (Sale), B Warren (Ospreys), T Plumtree (Scarlets), J Botham (Cardiff), K Hardy (Ospreys), S Costelow, E Mee (both Scarlets).