Dyer dropped with Wainwright the only Dragon to feature in Wales' autumn opener

DRAGONS winger Rio Dyer has been dropped by Wales for the autumn opener against Fiji on Sunday.

The 24-year-old will sit out the Principality Stadium clash after missing out to Mason Grady and debutant Blair Murray for the spots out wide.

The speedster has paid the price for not quite firing on all cylinders for the Rodney Parade club while Murray has shone since signing for the Scarlets.

The 23-year-old, whose mother is from Tonyrefail, arrived from New Zealand where he had been playing for Canterbury in domestic rugby.

Dyer has won 22 caps and has been in every matchday squad since the World Cup warm-up against England at Twickenham in August 2023.

His 14-Test streak - 16 fixtures when including uncapped fixtures against the Barbarians and Queensland Reds - will end on Sunday.

(Image: Niall Carson)

The last time that he wasn't in Warren Gatland's XV was the World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina when he came off the bench and he will try to push his way back in for the game against Australia in the second weekend of the series.

Dragons scrum-half Rhodri Williams also misses out on the 23 to face the Fijians with number eight Aaron Wainwright the only Rodney Parade representative.

He starts after proving his fitness when returning to action from a torn hamstring in the United Rugby Championship defeat to Connacht in Galway.

Wainwright, Wales’ player of the season, played 48 minutes in Galway and will now start alongside Tommy Reffell and Taine Plumtree in the back row.

Jac Morgan has to settle for a spot on the bench with Gatland plumping for six forwards and two backs as his replacements.

Ben Thomas is now at inside centre following two fly-half appearances during Wales’ summer tour of Australia, with Gareth Anscombe reclaiming Wales’ number 10 shirt for the first time since last year’s World Cup.

Anscombe, who was sidelined for several months by a groin injury, is joined in the back division by Gloucester team-mates Max Llewellyn and Tomos Williams, with Llewellyn chosen as Thomas’ midfield partner and Williams back at scrum-half.

Former Dragons captain Will Rowlands and Adam Beard, who both missed the two-Test Australia trip, are back together in the second row.

Bath prop Archie Griffin, who has only played twice for his club this season due to a minor temporary heart condition that he has now recovered from, features in the front-row alongside Gareth Thomas and captain Dewi Lake.

Wales have suffered nine successive Test-match defeats since beating 2023 World Cup opponents Georgia, and one more loss would equal their all-time worst run of 10 set in 2002 and 2003.

Wales team to face Fiji

15. Cameron Winnett (Cardiff Rugby  – 7 caps)
14. Mason Grady (Cardiff Rugby – 14 caps)
13. Max Llewellyn (Gloucester Rugby – 2 caps)
12. Ben Thomas (Cardiff Rugby  – 4 caps)
11. Blair Murray (Scarlets – uncapped / heb gap)
10. Gareth Anscombe (Gloucester Rugby – 37 caps)
9. Tomos Williams (Gloucester Rugby – 58 caps)
1. Gareth Thomas (Ospreys – 33 caps)
2. Dewi Lake (Ospreys – 15 caps) captain / capten
3. Archie Griffin (Bath Rugby  – 3 caps)
4. Will Rowlands (Racing 92 – 33 caps)
5. Adam Beard (Ospreys – 56 caps)
6. Taine Plumtree (Scarlets – 5 caps)
7. Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers – 20 caps)
8. Aaron Wainwright (Dragons – 50 caps)

Replacements

16. Ryan Elias (Scarlets – 41 caps)
17. Nicky Smith (Leicester Tigers – 46 caps)
18. Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff Rugby – 7 caps)
19. Christ Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs – 12 caps)
20. James Botham (Cardiff Rugby – 13 caps)
21. Jac Morgan (Ospreys – 15 caps)
22. Ellis Bevan (Cardiff Rugby – 3 caps)
23. Sam Costelow (Scarlets – 15 caps)