Francis starts against Scotland

By Mark Stevens
5/3/19

Tomas Francis has been named in the Welsh starting line-up for Saturday's Guinness Six Nations clash with Scotland on Saturday.

The Exeter Chiefs prop will win his 39th Test cap when he runs out at BT Murrayfield in a visiting line-up that shows just one change from the side that beat England last time out.

Coming into the Welsh side is Adam Beard, who features in place of the injured Cory Hill and will once again pack down alongside captain Alun Wyn Jones in the second row.

Head Coach Warren Gatland has taken the option to name his side's early than normal, but insists the decision is to allow for better preparation time. Wales currently lead the Six Nations table with 12 points, having won all three of their fixtures so far.

"We have named the team early to be on the front foot and let everyone know we are looking ahead to Saturday’s game," said Gatland, who also had to field a host of questions about plans to merge both the Ospreys and the Scarlets into one region.

"We have got a special group of players and Alun Wyn Jones said to them we have got to be at our best for Scotland now and prepare for it. We know what the rewards are. We have got to put adversity to one side and focus on the job."

Gatland admitted talk around the restructuring of club rugby in Welsh rugby had been a distraction in the past few days.

"There’s no doubt the players have been distracted. It is concerning. Players have been going home and asked question by wives and partners what’s going on," he added.

"Our message to the players is we need to wait and see what the outcome of the PRB meeting is going to be, the conclusion between the four regions and the union collectively. It’s a joint decision. You try and put players minds to rest and focus on winning Six Nations."

Certainly, Wales showed their credentials against England in their last fixture and Gatland is hoping for more of the same from his players.

"We were very confident against England," he said. "We got domination in the second half, which was pretty impressive and finished strongly. We want to build on that this week.

"I don’t think people appreciate how hard the boys train. We have pushed them incredibly hard, the work has been banked and we are maturing as a team. They know they’re going to get chances in games.

They have the belief they can come through and win games. I don’t see any fear in their eyes. The players are taking on a huge amount of responsibility in preparing themselves. It makes the job easier."

WALES TEAM TO PLAY SCOTLAND (Saturday, March 9, 2:15pm)

15. Liam Williams (54 Caps)
14. George North (81 Caps)
13. Jonathan Davies (71 Caps)
12. Hadleigh Parkes (13 Caps)
11. Josh Adams (9 Caps)
10. Gareth Anscombe (24 Caps)
9. Gareth Davies (39 Caps)
1. Rob Evans (33 Caps)
2. Ken Owens (62 Caps)
3. Tomas Francis (38 Caps)
4. Adam Beard (11 Caps)
5. Alun Wyn Jones (123 Caps, capt)
6. Josh Navidi (14 Caps)
7. Justin Tipuric (62 Caps)
8. Ross Moriarty (29 Caps)

REPLACEMENTS:

16. Elliot Dee (16 Caps)
17. Nicky Smith (26 Caps)
18. Dillon Lewis (10 Caps)
19. Jake Ball (30 Caps)
20. Aaron Wainwright (6 Caps)
21. Aled Davies (14 Caps)
22. Dan Biggar (68 Caps)
23. Owen Watkin (11 Caps)