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Wales spell out why Dan Lydiate will earn his first cap in 27 months on Sunday
Wales boss Wayne Pivac has hailed Dan Lydiate as “a form player in club rugby” after recalling him for a first Test match appearance since late 2018. The Ospreys flanker has not been involved in Wales’ last 29 games, but will start Sunday’s Guinness Six Nations clash against Principality Stadium visitors Ireland.
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Lydiate will be part of a Wales team containing a combined total of 874 caps, making it the most experienced starting line-up in Welsh international rugby history.
Apart from welcoming 33-year-old Lydiate back into the fold – he was Six Nations player of the tournament nine years ago and has won 64 Wales caps – Cardiff Blues wing Hallam Amos also features, and captain Alun Wyn Jones plays his first game since suffering a knee injury nine weeks ago.
Ospreys wing George North, meanwhile, will make his 99th Wales appearance at outside centre, partnering Johnny Williams in midfield, while Jonathan Davies misses out through injury. “Dan is a form player in club rugby, he has come into the camp and trained very well,” Pivac said. “He deserves a start, in our opinion. He will bring a lot of experience and he is a hard-nosed player. He is what we need in round one.”
North keeps the No13 shirt he wore against Autumn Nations Cup opponents Italy on December 5. Pivac added: “George has run there (at 13) for the last two weeks. That has been our plan with Jonathan Davies’ injury which he picked up in club rugby before coming into the camp. George did well there in the Italian game. He is comfortable at 13, and we are comfortable with him there.”
Stephen Ferris says Ireland's back row should be licking their lips at the prospect of playing Lydiate. https://t.co/qTG7qRonsq
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 5, 2021
Amos and Gloucester’s Louis Rees-Zammit take the wing positions in a department where Liam Williams and Josh Adams are both suspended. Williams was sent off during Scarlets’ Guinness PRO14 defeat against the Blues last month, and Adams is serving a two-match ban imposed by the Welsh Rugby Union after breaching Covid-19 protocols by attending a family gathering.
Elsewhere, 77 times-capped hooker Ken Owens and scrum-half Tomos Williams return after missing Wales’ six autumn Tests due to shoulder injuries, and Adam Beard is also back as skipper Jones’ second-row partner. Pivac oversaw just three wins – against Italy twice and Georgia – from ten starts last year, and his team finished a disappointing fifth in the Six Nations.
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Wales have also lost four successive Tests to Ireland, although their opponents this weekend have not won a Six Nations fixture on Welsh soil since 2013. Ireland’s recent dominance has led to some strong opinions across the Irish Sea that Wales will be up against it this weekend, but Pivac said: “We don’t trawl through those comments or see them.
“You are always going to get those sorts of discussions on either side of the Irish Sea before a game like this. Really, it just adds some spice to it, doesn’t it? People are allowed their opinions. From our point of view, we will just box on and try to put out a performance that we need to in order to win the game.”
Wales return to Cardiff for the first time since being beaten by France at the Principality Stadium almost twelve months ago. The ground then became Dragon’s Heart Hospital, treating coronavirus patients, before it was decommissioned, and Wales played all of their home autumn internationals at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli behind closed doors, which will also be the case on Sunday.
“We learnt a lot from playing with no crowds in the autumn,” Pivac added. “Everybody did, and some did it better than others. Just walking on to the park on Wednesday, we had a training session there and there was a lift in the boys just being in the home changing room again after so much time away. There were smiles on faces, they were happy to be back there. We are very much looking forward to getting back into the stadium.”
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"We know the truth…"#WALvIRE #SixNationshttps://t.co/xMafTD95aB
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 5, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
I wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
1 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
4 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
23 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
11 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
80 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
23 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
11 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
3 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
16 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
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