Keelan Giles is set to become Wales’ youngest player for six years with a debut this weekend.
The 18-year-old Ospreys wing – who has turned heads with some memorable tries already this season – is in line to earn his first cap against Japan on Saturday.
That would put Giles – who will be 18 years and 295 days old – firmly on the list of youngest debutants, behind pace-setters Tom Prydie (18 and 25 days), Norman Biggs (18 and 49 days), Evan Williams and George North (both 18 and 214 days).
Interim head coach Rob Howley intends making changes for Japan’s Principality Stadium visit after seeing his players stop their six-game losing streak by beating Argentina 24-20 in Cardiff on Saturday – and Giles is being prepared.
“There could be an opportunity for him,” Howley said. “We will digest things in terms of some bumps and bruises.
“Keelan has been brought into the squad. He is someone who has obviously been fast-tracked. If you are good enough, it doesn’t matter about your age. We have shown that with other players.
“It’s important that we look after our side, but we will pick a strong team. Japan are a very good side. They want to play a fast open game, so it’s important we respect them.”
Japan warmed up for their Cardiff visit with a 28-22 win against Georgia in Tbilisi on Saturday, while Wales will go into the game after ending a five-Test losing run through second-half tries by Liam Williams and Gareth Davies, plus 14 points from full-back Leigh Halfpenny.
Wales lost their previous Test against Japan in Tokyo in 2013, when Eddie Jones masterminded the first giant-killing on his journey to becoming England head coach.
‘We respect Japan,’ said Howley. ‘We watched a bit of their victory over Georgia on Saturday morning and their Argentina game last week. They want to play a fast, open game. We will make changes. We have got a few 30-year-olds in the side that started so they might a need a rest or two. It’s important that we look after our side but we’ll pick a strong team.’
Hooker Ken Owens, who went off after taking a heavy hit in the ribs and to his hip, added: ‘We worked hard in training and we had some tough meetings and some tough sessions, and I think that came through in the performance.
‘We stopped Argentina’s off-loading game by winning a lot of the collisions, and we dominated possession and territory, especially at the end of the first half, and put them under pressure.
‘We probably left a couple of scores out there, but our defence was much better.
‘We were in their 22 for nine minutes in the first half, or something ridiculous like that, and had a sequence of line-outs, scrums and penalties, so not to score was frustrating. That’s something we have to improve on.
‘We spoke all week about not being individual about what we are doing close to the line.
‘There was a bit of white-line fever at times, and we didn’t execute as well as we would have liked in that area.
‘The top teams in the southern hemisphere convert those chances – just look at Australia last week – and we still have to work on that part of our game.’
And centre Scott Williams said: ‘There was a lot of talk in the week about how good Argentina were, and we were obviously disappointed with our performance against Australia.
‘I thought we came out, fronted up and are happy to come away with the win.
‘We were a lot better in defence. We knew Argentina would want to come here and look to throw the ball around, and I thought our forwards stepped up to the mark. We were a lot more physical in the tackle and contact area.
‘Argentina are a very good side. There was pressure on us after last week, and we will take a lot from the game. We have to make sure we keep on improving.’
