Gatland goes for experience - Wales name team to play Fiji

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has announced his squad to face Fiji in Pool C in Bordeaux on Sunday, 10 September.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has named his match-day 23 to face Fiji in Bordeaux on Sunday, with George North set to appear at his fourth World Cup.

1 Gareth Thomas
2 Ryan Elias
3 Tomas Francis
4 Will Rowlands
5 Adam Beard
6 Aaron Wainwright
7 Jac Morgan (c)
8 Taulupe Faletau
9 Gareth Davies
10 Dan Biggar
11 Josh Adams
12 Nick Tompkins
13 George North
14 Louis Rees-Zammit
15 Liam Williams

Forwards:
16 Elliot Dee
17 Corey Domachowski
18 Dillon Lewis
19 Dafydd Jenkins
20 Tommy Reffell 
21 Tomos Williams
22 Sam Costelow
23 Rio Dyer 

  • Head coach Warren Gatland has named an experienced side, with 13 players in his match-day 23 having previously played at a Rugby World Cup.
  • Only five players in the starting XV will be making their RWC debuts: Louis Rees Zammitt, Nick Tompkins, Gareth Thomas, Will Rowlands, and captain Jac Morgan. Five others could get their first taste of a Rugby World Cup action from the bench.
  • Two Welsh players named in this match-day 23 play their club rugby in France with Dan Biggar at Toulon and Will Rowlands at Racing 92, while Tomas Francis is set to join Provence after the tournament.
  • George North will join Alun Wyn Jones, Stephen Jones and Gethin Jenkins as the only Welsh players to have played at four Rugby World Cup tournaments. He has played against Fiji in all of them.
  • Josh Adams scored a hattrick against Fiji at RWC 2019, one of only seven Welsh players in Rugby World Cup history to score three or more tries in a match.
  • Warren Gatland becomes the first head coach in Rugby World Cup history to coach at five tournaments. His first tournament came in 1999 with Ireland, before taking Wales to the 2011, 2015 and 2019 editions.