And the returning Wales head coach insists he has not gambled by taking out three players with 360 Test caps between them and replaced them with players with 10 caps between them in the back two rows of the scrum..
“There are changes, but I wouldn’t say they are wholesale changes. In the past I’ve been criticised for making too many changes, particularly against Italy or in the autumn, so I’ve tried to work on the balance,” said Gatland.
“We’ve spoken about giving these youngsters some time, but I wouldn’t say it’s too many changes. I don’t see it as a changing of the old guard.
“We need to think about what’s important in this tournament. We lost that first game so we can’t win the Grand Slam or the Triple Crown. We still want to do well, and Saturday’s game is important for us, but we need to think long-term as well.
“We’ve got a huge disparity between those experienced players with the number of caps they’ve got and a lot of incredibly talented youngsters with a limited number of caps. We just need to find that balance.”
Out goes the world’s most capped player, Alun Wyn Jones, who has won 156 caps for Wales and 12 more for the British & Irish Lions. Another 100-cap player, Taulupe Faletau, drops to the bench and the skipper from the Autumn Nations Series, Justin Tipuric, is also left out.
In come the rookie Exeter Chiefs pair of Dafydd Jenkins and Christ Tshiunza, as well as Leicester Tigers back row turn over king Tommy Reffell. Jac Morgan switches from blindside to No 8, where he played so well for the Ospreys when they beat Leicester Tigers in Europe recently, in a fourth change in the back five of the Welsh pack.
Dafydd Jenkins
Jenkins and Tshiunza get their first starts, while the five fresher faces in the pack currently have a mere 15 caps between them. There are also two changes to the front row, with British & Irish Lions prop Wyn Jones returning at loose head and Dillon Lewis starting in place of the injured Tomas Francis.
Gatland has given his back division a vote of confidence, including 20-year-old centre Joe Hawkins, who will win his third cap. Ospreys second row / flanker Rhys Davies could win his first cap off the bench.
“We’d spoken to Alun Wyn Jones before the campaign about him not playing all the games as we need to see some of the youngsters in that position. We got some talent coming through, but they’re young and inexperienced,” added Gatland.
“Christ gets an opportunity, and he is a great athlete. We want to see who is our cover at No 8 if Faletau gets injured – that’s the thinking behind that.”
Christ Tshiunza
Gatland famously introduced Faletau and current skipper Ken Owens into his squad in 2011 and turned them into world class players. He also brought in Sam Warburton just before them when he was very young.
“You could draw some comparisons to 2011 – I don’t have any problems with people alluding to that,” added Gatland.
“A lot of those decisions will be made after this campaign around the World Cup warm-up games and camps when we’re together as a whole squad. That’s when we’ll continue further with the development of this team.
“I think that’s exciting. We’ve got a group of youngsters who, if I was in that age bracket, I’d be thinking ‘if I go out, perform well and put my hand up, I’ve got a chance of holding onto that jersey’.
“The older guys have been brilliant, working and helping each other out. As a youngster, I’d be excited by the opportunity.”
