Wayne Pivac is set to resist the temptation to throw Alyn Wyn Jones back into the Six Nations firing line when Wales face whipping boys Italy – with veteran having not played since his shoulder injury suffered in October
- Alun Wyn Jones has been ruled out after sustaining a shoulder injury last year
- But he returned to Wales’ squad this week and is available to take on Italy next
- A place among the Welsh replacements is currently the best he can hope for
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac is set to resist the temptation to throw Alun Wyn Jones straight back into the Six Nations firing line for Saturday’s clash with Italy.
Jones – the iconic Wales and British & Irish Lions captain – hasn’t played since suffering a shoulder injury which required surgery against New Zealand on October 30.
The 36-year-old officially returned Pivac’s squad this week and is available to face the Azzurri although a place among the Welsh replacements is the best he can hope for.
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac is set to hold off on throwing Alun Wyn Jones into the firing line
Will Rowlands and Adam Beard – who have grown as a lock pairing throughout 2022 – are set to start a fifth straight Six Nations game.
Pivac will make a late call on whether to use Jones or the less experienced Seb Davies or Ben Carter off the bench. Should Jones face Italy, he would win his 150th Welsh cap.
Fly-half Dan Biggar – so impressive in the Six Nations to date – will continue as Wales captain and win his 100th Welsh cap even with Jones back in the squad. Biggar is set to play alongside Kieran Hardy against Italy.
Pivac will soon make a late call on whether to use Jones or the less experienced Seb Davies
Hardy will replace Tomos Williams at scrum-half after the latter suffered a nasty head injury in the 13-9 defeat by France.
Pivac – who has never named the same side in successive games since becoming Wales coach – is set to rotate his team again for Italy.
Wales can’t retain the title they won in 2021 and Pivac will confirm his starting XV on Tuesday morning – two days earlier than expected.
Kieran Hardy will replace Tomos Williams at scrum-half, and says ‘this week is a real test for us’
‘We know how good we can be and I think this week is a real test for us to show our attacking strengths, try and score four tries, and finish with a dominant performance,’ Hardy said.
Six Nations whipping boys Italy still haven’t won a Six Nations game since 2015. Should Wales beat them with a bonus point and other results go their way, Pivac’s men could yet finish third.
‘Italy at home is still going to be a tough one, but we need to get that win,’ said flanker Josh Navidi.
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