Wales fly-half options considered
Wales fly-half Sam Costelow, who has earned 20 international caps, has been ruled out of the upcoming Six Nations match against Ireland on Friday night due to an ankle injury sustained during the second half of the 26-23 loss to Scotland nine days prior. Despite being retained in the squad last week, the 25-year-old Scarlets number 10 is not fit to travel to Dublin but remains a potential participant in the tournament's final fixture against Italy on 14 March in Cardiff.
Costelow is expected to be replaced by either Jarrod Evans or Dan Edwards, the latter having been dropped for the Scotland game after starting the previous seven matches. Wales head coach Steve Tandy is scheduled to announce his team on Wednesday and will also need to find a replacement for injured flanker Taine Plumtree, who has been ruled out of the tournament with a shoulder injury.
To bolster the squad ahead of the fourth game of this year's campaign, Tandy has already added Cardiff prop Keiron Assiratti and Dragons flanker Ryan Woodman. Wales enter the match seeking to end a challenging period, having lost 24 of their last 26 internationals and aiming to halt a Six Nations losing streak of 14 consecutive matches that dates back three years. The team has not defeated Ireland away in the Six Nations since 2012 nor secured a victory in Dublin since 2015.
Wales fly-half options considered
Wales attack coach Matt Sherratt commended Costelow's return and highlighted the competitive nature of the number 10 position.
"There's a real tussle going on with the 10s at the moment,"Sherratt said.
"Dan was starting in the autumn and started the Six Nations. Sam has trained the house down and deserved that start. It's up to the two remaining for this week now to fight it out to start the weekend."
Sherratt expressed admiration for Edwards' response after being dropped for the Scotland game.
"He was great and I had a good long chat with Dan after the first round of games [against England],"Sherratt stated.
"If you look at all 10s - again, it's probably all the interest in the Six Nations - and the likes of Fin Smith and Marcus Smith, very rarely does a 10 go all the way through a campaign. Dan had played seven games on the bounce for Wales, which is a good shift for a young lad. There is going to be some rest and rotation because part of the big picture leading up to the World Cup in 2027 is developing squad depth."
Edwards has primarily been used as a starter for Wales, while Evans has often been deployed as a replacement intended to influence the game from the bench. Sherratt explained,
"I don't think that's been anything we've talked about massively. We feel sometimes with Jarrod, when the game is broken up, he comes on and there's clarity in terms of how we need to finish a game. He's finished games brilliantly, and Japan is the obvious one, but I think back to the last Six Nations as well. He came on at the end of the Scotland game in particular and he gets your attack flowing. So there is a little bit of that with Jarrod, he's a very good impact player, can cover two positions, but all three 10s are in the mix to start when they are fit."
