By David Williams Wales have got the monkey off their back, but at a painful cost with Justin Tipuric a major doubt to face England next week. Wayne Pivac’s team finally won again after six straight defeats thanks to a workmanlike display from a youthful side who put away rugged Georgia, 18-0, at Parc Y […]

James Botham has been told he has a huge opportunity in his hands when he makes his debut for Wales on Saturday. Botham – grandson of England cricket great Sir Ian Botham – will makes his Wales bow in the Autumn Nations Cup clash against Georgia, with England the opposition to follow next weekend. The 22-year-old Cardiff Blues flanker was called up to Wales’ Nations Cup squad on Monday and he has played just 13 professional games. But Cardiff-born Botham, whose father Liam played rugby union and rugby league for a number of clubs, is among three newcomers selected to face Georgia alongside Scarlets backs Johnny Williams and Kieran Hardy.

Wales will unveil the future against Georgia on Saturday with Louis Rees-Zammit, James Botham and Callum Sheedy all set to start for the first time. Head coach Wayne Pivac always planned to rotate his squad for the Georgia clash, but his decision to make a possible 13 changes from the team hammered by Ireland last week must be considered a gamble. It comes with Wales on their worst losing run since 2012-13 after six successive defeats.

George North has been dealing with pressure ever since he announced his Wales presence with a try double on his debut against South Africa in 2010. Ten years on he will edge closer to joining that elite 100 Club when he wins his 96th cap in Saturday night’s clash against France in Paris.

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones will equal the record for most Test appearances when he leads the team against France in Paris on Saturday. The 35-year-old lock will win his 148th cap at the Stade de France in a match which is a warm-up for both countries ahead of the belated completion of the Six Nations. Jones was set to play in a record-equalling 148th game – drawing level with former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw – against Scotland in the Six Nations in March but the match was postponed at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jonny May might be among the fastest wingers in the world, but he will have to get his skates on to keep up with Gloucester rookie Louis Rees-Zammit when he returns to Kingsholm later this year. Rees-Zammit has been picking up tips on wing play from the likes of George North, Josh Adams and Liam Williams since being called into the Wales Six Nations squad this season and the talented teenager can’t wait to pick the brains of England’s finest. More than that, he’d love to challenge England’s fifth highest try scorer to a race in training when they become team mates in the next few months. Just to see how he measures up against arguably the fastest player in England!

England legend Martin Johnson has told Wales they must be brave if they are have a chance of beating England at Twickenham. As coach Wayne Pivac considers some bold selection calls for Saturday’s Six Nations clash – including throwing in teenager Louis Rees-Zammit and recalling Liam Williams – Johnson reckons fortune will favour the brave. The former World Cup-winning captain believes Wales are better than their recent run of successive defeats to Ireland and France suggests, but insists they will only succeed with a positive mindset.

Now that Wayne Pivac has his feet under the table – only for the table to be upturned by Ireland -Robin Davey argues it is time for the Wales coach to make some changes. That should mean, he says, a call for teenage wing Louis Rees-Zammit. Welcome to the Wales job, Wayne Pivac! After a welcome easy ride first time out in the Six Nations against chopping blocks Italy, reality kicked for the Wales coach against Ireland.

Wayne Pivac has named his first Six Nations team to face Italy on Saturday but Robin Davey is underwhelmed by a lack of boldness in a fixture where the risks are at their lowest. When the new Welsh hierarchy took over we were promised greater adventure and added value after the more prosaic approach offered by Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards, pretty successful though that was. But instead when head coach Wayne Pivac announced his first Six Nations team for the match against Italy at the Principality Stadium on Saturday we were dished up almost the opposite.

Louis Rees-Zammit can still be proud of his breakthrough season – even if his Six Nations hopes with Wales are undermined through injury. The 18-year-old – who broke into Wayne Pivac’s squad for the Six Nations last week – has been applauded by his Gloucester coach Johan Ackermann at their end of a European campaign that has thrown doubt over his fitness for Wales. Rees-Zammit damaged his ankle and had to be helped off the field during his side’s 35-14 defeat at Toulouse at the weekend and faces an anxious wait for scans to reveal the full extent of the injury.

Teenage wing Louis Rees-Zammit and Saracens centre Nick Tompkins have both been named in Wales’ Guinness Six Nations squad. They are joined by three more uncapped players in Sale Sharks prop WillGriff John, Wasps lock Will Rowlands and Scarlets wing Johnny McNicholl, and there is also a recall for scrum-half Rhys Webb. Webb last played Test rugby just over two years ago before joining French club Toulon and ruling himself out of Wales contention because he did not meet the minimum 60-cap selection criteria for players plying their trade outside the country.

Saracens chief Mark McCall expects Wales to conduct a cross border raid by including his centre Nick Tompkins in their Six Nations squad. McCall has revealed that Wales coach Wayne Pivac has been alerted to Tompkins’ availability and the 24-year-old Sarries and former England U20 star is set to be named in Pivac’s squad for the tournament when it is announced on Wednesday. Pivac has a dilemma at outside centre since Jonathan Davies, Owen Watkin and Willis Halaholo are all injured – leaving a gap to be filled for the opening fixture against Italy on February 1.