By David Williams
Christ Tshiunza has been backed to make a big dent against Fiji on Sunday if the teenage forward comes off the bench to win his first cap for Wales.
The 19-year-old Exeter Chiefs back row star, who has already created a sense of anticipation after breaking into Wayne Pivac’s squad after just a handful of matches, is poised to make his debut at the Principality Stadium on Sunday.
Tshiunza has been named among the replacements, while the starting side includes Alex Cuthbert, a former Wales regular on the wing, but who has not figured in international rugby for four years.
Pivac has made just one change to the pack that lost to South Africa last weekend, with Thomas Young coming on to the openside flank and Taine Basham moving to number 8 in place of the injured Aaron Wainwright.
Outside-half Dan Biggar remains the cornerstone in a much-changed backline. Scrum half Kieran Hardy gets his first opportunity of the autumn with Tomos Williams moving to the replacements bench.
Johnny Williams returns to the centre, having started against New Zealand in the opening round, and will be joined in midfield by Cardiff’s Josh Adams.
With Adams taking up a spot in the centre, Louis Rees-Zammit moves to the left wing allowing Ospreys’ Cuthbert an opportunity to come in on the right wing, his first international appearance since November 2017.
Supremely talented Welsh back row picked, but it’s a pocket-sized trio of 7s. None are over 6ft and barely tipping 16st. Fast and loose against the fast and loose Fijians it is. Should be fun. Scales will tip when 6ft 6in, 17st 7lbs Christ Tshiunza enters the fray
— Owain Jones (@OwainJTJones) November 10, 2021
But it is the likely cameo showing afforded to Cardiff-raised, Congo-born Tshiunza that will attract the most focus.
Picav said: “He’s come in, he’s trained well and with Ben Carter at 20 years of age and Christ at 19 it’s very exciting.
“We’re looking at him as a player, in the future, who can hopefully cover two positions, in the second row and at six.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing him out there. He’ll be full of energy, he’s very excited about the opportunity and he’s one for the future.”
The two sides, who will once again feature in the same Rugby World Cup pool in 2023, last faced each other in the pool stages of the competition in Japan, 2019.
Reflecting on last week’s performance against South Africa, Pivac added: “It was a much improved performance from the week before.
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Wales pick a new look squad ahead of this weekend led by Ellis Jenkins to face Fiji in their third game of the #AutumnNationsSeries. #WALvFJI
— Welsh Rugby Union (@WelshRugbyUnion) November 10, 2021
“A game where we led for the first 70 minutes and it was really our own undoing with a little bit of a lapse in discipline and a couple of penalties towards the end.
“I thought defensively we worked really hard. There was a lot to be pleased about. We would have loved to have won the match, we were disappointed with the end result but there were a lot of positives to take out of the game moving forward.”
“We want to be able to use our squad where we can. In terms of the forwards we don’t have a lot of options with injuries and unavailability.
“The exciting one is Josh Adams getting an opportunity. That’s really looking at the future. When you have to pick a World Cup squad of 33, you’ve got to have players that can play in more than one position and we’ve been wanting to do it for a while so we’ll see how Josh goes in the midfield.
“Fiji are big, powerful and very quick out-wide. The introduction of Alex Cuthbert, along with Louis Rees-Zammit, is an eye on the speed that the Fijians will bring and we need to be able to match that.
“The offloading game that they bring is certainly different to the South Africans.
“They are a good side. They’re a much-improved side of some of the Fiji teams of old, certainly since when I was involved with Fiji they’ve come a long.”
Wales team to face Fiji, at Principality Stadium, on Sunday 14th November 2021;
15 Liam Williams (Scarlets)
14 Alex Cuthbert (Ospreys)
13 Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby)
12 Johnny Williams (Scarlets)
11 Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby)
10 Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints)
9 Kieran Hardy (Scarlets)
1 Rhys Carré (Cardiff Rugby)
2 Ryan Elias (Scarlets)
3 Tomas Francis (Ospreys)
4 Will Rowlands (Dragons)
5 Adam Beard (Ospreys)
6 Ellis Jenkins (Cardiff Rugby – captain)
7 Thomas Young (Wasps Rugby)
8 Taine Basham (Dragons)
Replacements;
16 Bradley Roberts (Ulster)
17 Gareth Thomas (Ospreys)
18 WillGriff John (Scarlets)
19 Christ Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs – uncapped)
20 Seb Davies (Cardiff Rugby)
21 Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby)
22 Callum Sheedy (Bristol Bears)
23 Nick Tompkins (Saracens)
