Dragons talisman to hit half-century for Wales in Australia but locks miss out

DRAGONS talisman Aaron Wainwright will win his 50th Wales cap against Australia on Saturday, but locks Ben Carter and Matthew Screech miss out.

Number eight Wainwright will bring up his half-century in Sydney after being named in the XV along with Rodney Parade winger Rio Dyer.

However, there is no place in the matchday 23 for Carter and Screech despite strong performances in the 41-13 defeat to South Africa at Twickenham a fortnight ago.

The duo did well up against Springboks greats Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert but miss out against the Wallabies.

Head coach Warren Gatland has instead opted for the Exeter duo of Christ Tshiunza and Dafydd Jenkins – who were unavailable for the South Africa game – with former Dragons captain Cory Hill on the bench.

It is a return to the Test stage for Hill, who has been playing in the lower leagues in Japan. His last cap was against France in the 2021 Six Nations.

Gatland revealed that Carter was set to be involved this weekend only to suffer a minor injury.

"Initially, our thoughts this week were that he was going to be involved in the 23 but he picked up a stinger in training on Tuesday," said the head coach. "We assessed him this morning and ruled him out of the 23."

STRONG: Matthew Screech and Ben Carter, pictured helping Gareth Thomas in a carry, performed well against the Boks (Image: PA)

Carter and Screech will hope to come in for the second Test rather than just holding tackle bags and having an outing in the friendly finale against Queensland Reds.

Gloucester winger Josh Hathaway makes his debut as Wales ensure that the 20-year-old, who has played for England at age-grade level, is captured.

“He is a young player with a lot of potential and we think there is a lot of improvement in his game, whether it is wing or full-back,” said Gatland when naming his training squad last month.

His selection means Liam Williams moves to full-back at the expense of Cameron Winnett while Ben Thomas gets the nod at fly-half.

The Cardiff man is predominantly a centre but makes his first international outing since 2021 to provide a more physical option than Sam Costelow, who drops to the bench.

Sydney-born Bath prop Archie Griffin makes his first Test start while Mason Grady and Owen Watkin continue in midfield.

Wainwright will provide some experience in the pack – only full-back Williams has won more caps in the entire matchday squad – as he reaches a landmark.

The Dragons talisman made his debut against Argentina in 2018 and has never lost to Australia in three fixtures, the last the World Cup hammering of the Wallabies in Lyon.

But it will be a tough task against the Aussies, having not beaten them Down Under since 1969, losing 11 successive games.

However, the Wallabies are also at the start of a rebuild under new boss Joe Schmidt, who has also named an inexperienced side after replacing Eddie Jones.

Wales: L Williams (Kubota Spears); J Hathaway (Gloucester), O Watkin (Ospreys), M Grady (Cardiff), R Dyer (Dragons); B Thomas (Cardiff), E Bevan (Cardiff); G Thomas (Ospreys), D Lake (Ospreys, captain), A Griffin (Bath), C Tshiunza (Exeter), D Jenkins (Exeter), T Plumtree (Scarlets), T Reffell (Leicester), A Wainwright (Dragons).

Replacements: E Lloyd (Cardiff), K Mathias (Scarlets), H O’Connor (Scarlets), C Hill (Secom Rugguts), J Botham (Cardiff), K Hardy (Ospreys), S Costelow (Scarlets), N Tompkins (Saracens).