Josh Hathaway will make his Test debut, Aaron Wainwright will celebrate his 50th international cap and Ben Thomas will be given the fly-half role for Wales’ clash with Australia in Sydney on Saturday.
Aberystwyth-born Gloucester full-back Hathaway, who represented Wales and England at Under-20 level, starts on the wing.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland moved quickly to secure the 20-year-old’s services, something that became apparent after Exeter winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso found himself in a similar position last season and chose England.
“We want to make sure we qualify him for Wales,” Gatland said, after naming his training squad in June.
“He is a young player with a lot of potential and we think there is a lot of progress in his game, whether on the wing or on the side.”
A revamped defence from the side beaten by world champions South Africa at Twickenham sees Liam Williams move from wing to full-back, with Cameron Winnett dropping out after starting Wales’ last six Tests.
Thomas, meanwhile, makes his first international appearance since 2021 after being preferred to Sam Costelow in the number 10 jersey.
He will have some familiar faces alongside him, however, with Cardiff colleagues Ellis Bevan and Mason Grady starting at scrum-half and inside centre respectively.
Elsewhere, Sydney-born Bath prop Archie Griffin will make his first Test, while Exeter forwards Christ Tshiunza and Dafydd Jenkins join forces in the second row and number eight Wainwright reflects on his half-century of international appearances.
Williams, Wainwright and prop Gareth Thomas are the only surviving starters from Wales’ record 40-6 win over Australia at the 2023 World Cup.
Wales will have a tough task against the Wallabies, having not beaten them in Australia since 1969, losing 11 consecutive matches.
Gatland said: “We’ve had a good week of preparation here in Sydney and we’re looking forward to getting out on the pitch on Saturday.
“This first Test will be a big challenge for us.
“Test matches are all about the smallest margins and we know we have to be sharp, keep our discipline and stay in the fight for the full 80 minutes.
“There’s a lot of talent in the Australian team and we know they’ll want to give it their all and put in a good performance against us.”
Wales: L. Williams (Kubota Spears); J. Hathaway (Gloucester), O. Watkin (Ospreys), M. Grady (Cardiff), R. Dyer (Dragons); B. Thomas (Cardiff), E. Bevan (Cardiff); G. Thomas (Ospreys), D. Lake (Ospreys, captain), A. Griffin (Bath), C. Tshiunza (Exeter), D. Jenkins (Exeter), T. Plumtree (Scarlets), T. Reffell (Leicester) , A. Wainwright (Dragons).
Replacements: E. Lloyd (Cardiff), K. Mathias (Scarlets), H. O’Connor (Scarlets), C. Hill (Secom Rugguts), J. Botham (Cardiff), K. Hardy (Ospreys), S. Costelow (Scarlets), N. Tompkins (Saracens).
Wright captains next-gen Australia in Schmidt’s first Test in charge
Former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt takes charge of Australia for the first time after succeeding Eddie Jones as head coach and has named a new squad for the opening Test against Wales.
Joe Schmidt enjoyed a successful run as Ireland manager from 2013 to 2019, including six Six Nations titles.
Flanker Liam Wright was named captain, with uncapped centre Josh Flook and second-row Jeremy Williams also selected.
Williams will partner Lukhan Salakaia-Loto in the second row, who returns from a stint in England with Northampton for his first test since 2021.
Tom Wright, who was not selected for last year’s World Cup, returns at full-back and Andrew Kellaway will play on the wing. Filipo Daugunu has been recalled to start on the other wing.
Also among the replacements are five newcomers, including Tom Lynagh, son of Wallabies World Cup winner Michael Lynagh and brother of Italy international Louis Lynagh.
Australia: 15) Tom Wright, 14) Andrew Kellaway, 13) Josh Flook, 12) Hunter Paisami, 11) Filipo Daugunu, 10) Noah Lolesio, 9) Jake Gordon; 1) James Slipper, 2) Matt Faessler, 3) Taniela Tupou, 4) Jeremy Williams, 5) Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 6) Liam Wright (c), 7) Fraser McReight, 8) Rob Valetini
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