Rees-Zammit Returns to Wing for Wales Against Fiji
Louis Rees-Zammit, who has earned 40 international caps for Wales, will revert to his preferred position on the wing for the Nations Championship opener against Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium, kicking off at 14:10 BST.
During the Six Nations, Rees-Zammit started all five matches at full-back, but for this weekend's fixture, he is named on the wing, with Blair Murray selected at full-back wearing the number 15 jersey.
Wales head coach Steve Tandy has made six changes to the squad that secured a 33-31 victory over the Barbarians in an uncapped international match.
Rees-Zammit, scrum-half Tomos Williams, prop Rhys Carre, and lock Adam Beard return to the squad after being unavailable last week due to their commitments with English or French clubs, as the Barbarians match fell outside World Rugby's international window.
Cardiff players Josh Adams and Alex Mann also return to the starting lineup. Meanwhile, back-rower Taine Plumtree has been moved to the replacements bench, where he will provide cover for the lock position.
Ospreys' uncapped prop Ben Warren is poised to earn his first cap coming off the bench.
Rees-Zammit Back in His Favoured Position
Earlier in the week, Rees-Zammit missed a training session due to a minor niggle but participated fully in Wednesday's training.
The 25-year-old was shifted from wing to full-back by his club Bristol following Wales' autumn internationals, and this positional experiment continued under Tandy during the Six Nations.
After the tournament, Rees-Zammit returned to Bristol and expressed to head coach Pat Lam his desire to focus on playing on the wing.
Wales attack coach Matt Sherratt commented earlier this week that the former NFL trialist remains "open-minded to play 15 but now sees himself as a wing who can play there."
Rees-Zammit, who scored in his previous two matches against Fiji in 2021 and 2023, will be joined on the wing by Josh Adams. Ellis Mee has been dropped to the bench, and Tom Rogers is not included in the squad.
Captain Dewi Lake and Cardiff flanker Alex Mann continue their record as the only players to have started every Test under Steve Tandy, with this weekend marking the 10th Test of his tenure.
Plumtree Covers Lock as Wales Stretch Second-Row Resources
Wales have named only three specialist second-row players in the Nations Championship squad, with Adam Beard and Ben Carter starting against Fiji.
The squad suffered a setback when Dafydd Jenkins was ruled out of the tour due to shoulder surgery.
Adam Beard joined the Wales squad only on Sunday after playing for Montpellier in the Top 14 final defeat against Toulouse. Tomos Williams played his first game in nine months against the Barbarians after recovering from a serious ankle injury.
Consequently, Tandy has chosen Taine Plumtree to cover the lock position instead of Williams for this weekend's match.
Plumtree has primarily been used as a blind-side flanker or number eight in his 14 international appearances. He has not started a senior game at lock for either club or country since joining Llanelli from Auckland before the 2023 World Cup.
His last start at lock was for Wellington in the NPC in August 2022, and he also played several games at lock for the New Zealand Under-20s.
Wales opted not to select Gloucester's Freddie Thomas or Dragons' uncapped Ryan Woodman, both of whom have played at lock and flanker this season.
Christ Tshiunza is currently unavailable for Wales selection due to the 25-cap rule, which prevents Tandy from selecting the Sale-bound forward. The 24-year-old lock or flanker will transfer to Sharks from Premiership runners-up Exeter this summer but has only 15 caps, falling short of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) requirement for players representing clubs outside Wales.
Another Disrupted Build-Up
The Wales squad's preparations for the Nations Championship have been disrupted by a dispute with the WRU regarding match fees.
Off-field issues affected the build-up but were resolved only three days before the opening fixture.
Discussions between the Welsh Rugby Union and the Welsh Rugby Players' Association (WRPA) concerning "employment terms" concluded with an agreement late on Wednesday afternoon, ensuring the Fiji game would proceed as scheduled.
Wales were scheduled to hold a press conference on Wednesday, but the playing squad declined to attend due to the ongoing dispute with the WRU.
Wales assert that no training sessions were disrupted, and the dispute was not mentioned in Tandy's press release statements.
"It's been awesome get back into camp and get ready for games," said Tandy.
"We want to keep building on the Six Nations and from last weekend as well.
"We've created a lot of momentum and we're looking to hit the ground running on Saturday."
Although Wales are the designated away team for Saturday's game, Fiji will host the match despite it being played 10,000 miles from Suva.
This fixture will mark the first international rugby game held at the home of Cardiff City football club.
"We're excited to be in Cardiff to start the Nations Championship," said Tandy.
"We love to be in Wales playing games. Our support means a hell of a lot to us and fans are incredible how they get behind the team."
Wales Team to Face Fiji
Starting lineup: Blair Murray; Louis Rees-Zammit, James Hawkins, Josh Adams; Edwards; Tomos Williams; Rhys Carre; Dewi Lake (captain), Lewis, Ben Carter, Adam Beard, Alex Mann, Morgan, Wainwright.
Replacements: Elias, Smith, Ben Warren, Taine Plumtree, Botham, Hardy, Costelow, Ellis Mee.
