Wales 'excited' rather than 'intimidated' ahead of England opener
The hard-working Josh Macleod will start at openside flanker against England
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Wales head coach Steve Tandy says his side are “excited about the challenge ahead” as they open their Guinness Six Nations campaign against England at the Allianz Stadium on Saturday evening.
Amid the ongoing turmoil in Welsh rugby, Tandy is determined to get the nation back to winning ways as they aim for their first Six Nations victory since 2023.
They will, however, face a stern challenge against an England side that have won their last 11 Test matches.
Louis Rees-Zammit has been named at full-back, with Ellis Mee and Josh Adams on the wings. Eddie James earns a second start for Wales ahead of Owen Watkin, while Ben Thomas is preferred over Joe Hawkins at inside centre.
Tomos Williams and Dan Edwards continue their halfback partnership from the autumn, with captain Dewi Lake starting in the front row alongside Nicky Smith and Archie Griffin.
After starting three games together in the Autumn Series, Dafydd Jenkins and Adam Beard form the second row. Alex Mann shifts to blindside flanker to accommodate Josh Macleod, who is set for his first Six Nations start, with Aaron Wainwright at number 8.
The bench is split 6/2, featuring the return of Tomos Francis for the first time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Taine Plumtree and Harri Deaves are included alongside Ben Carter, who is in line for his first Six Nations appearance since 2022.
"With our group, we’ve got to look inward and look ourselves in the mirror because I believe we are the ones to take the challenge to England," said Tandy.
"There are moments in the autumn where we played well, and it’s going to be a different experience for us going away from home.
"But ultimately, it’s the test you want and we’re going to play probably the form team in world rugby. It’s going to be awesome for us to see our development from the autumn and there’ll be no bigger test.
"I don’t think it’ll be intimidating, it’ll be exciting!"
"There’s a massive respect for what England do, the way they play the game, how efficient they are, the power they have, but these are the games we want to be involved in."
Scarlets trio back into the starting XV
The main talking point from Tandy's selection was the inclusion of Scarlets trio Ellis Mee, Eddie James, and Josh Macleod in the starting XV.
In particular, wing Mee has enjoyed a consistent run of games, starting eight matches since the heavy defeat to South Africa in November. He also scored a last-minute winner against Ulster last month.
"The way the game’s going, you have to think about it and I do feel really excited about our back three”, said Tandy.
"I think it’s not just his [Mee's] aerial stuff. I think he’s been outstanding defensively. He’s been picking up jackals, you see the try he finishes off against Ulster.
"Then you’ve got Gabe [Hamer-Webb] who’s come in and been outstanding in training, Mason [Grady] has been excellent as well, and then you’ve got Josh [Adams] with his experience, so I feel we’ve got some physicality, but also we’ve got young men who’ve got a really exciting future in Test rugby."
While 23-year-old James has started in 10 games this season after overcoming a back injury, it will only be his second start for the national side, but the Welsh head coach is pleased with the competition in midfield and gave praise to centre Ben Thomas.
"I think it’s been really competitive in those centre spots, so we watched a lot of games over Christmas and January and obviously looking at the boys training,” added Tandy.
"I think Ben has played really, really well. I think he’s responded from Joe coming into the team at the back end of the autumn. The way he’s gone about playing over the Christmas period, I thought he was excellent.
"With Eddie, I think he’s been coming back from injury and everyone I’ve spoken to said he’s in better shape.
"He’s a big, big man and the way he’s adapted to training has been outstanding so pretty excited to see those two go on Saturday.”
Flanker Macleod is set for his Six Nations debut, and Tandy is also eager to see what the openside flanker can bring.
"Josh has had some rough luck with injuries, but the way he's come back, the way he leads, his attention to detail around his week plan, the way he trains, the intensity he brings to everything he does is excellent.
"He’s 29 and hasn’t got the number of caps he probably fully deserves, but I think it is a testament to his character, the way he has kept going and kept getting better.
"It would be easy for people to be tentative with some of the injuries he’s been through, but I think it tells you everything about him as a person and his leadership.
"The way he’s come into the campaign has been outstanding. I spoke to him [about] how disappointed he was not to be available for the autumn through injury.
"But then all the feedback we had from Japan [last summer's tour] and the way he’s been has been outstanding. He fully deserves that spot and again. Just really excited to see how he goes and attacks the game on Saturday.”
Wales: Rees-Zammit; Mee, James, B Thomas, Adams; Edwards, T Williams; Smith, Lake (capt), Griffin, Jenkins, Beard, Mann, Macleod, Wainwright.
Replacements: Belcher, Carre, Francis, Carter, Plumtree, Deaves, Hardy, Grady.
