Former Wales captain Sam Warburton believes only five players are considered nailed-on starters for Wales, with intense competition for jerseys set to continue throughout the Nations Championship. Speaking ahead of Wales' 35-21 defeat to Argentina on Saturday night, Warburton identified Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan, Aaron Wainwright, Tomos Williams, and Eddie James as the players who have cemented their places in Steve Tandy's starting XV.
"You look across the team sheet and you see Dewi Lake at No.2, Jac Morgan at No.7, Aaron Wainwright, Tomos Williams, Eddie James, they are cemented, those players," Warburton said on ITV. He highlighted the number six shirt as a key battleground, noting that Alex Mann and James Botham are vying for the position. "James Botham is an exceptional athlete and a really good lineout option, good ball carrier, good on the floor and a really good all-rounder. He has a real opportunity to make the six shirt his own but has a big battle with Alex Mann, which should bring the best out of you."
Tandy Confirms Changes for Springboks Clash
Wales head coach Steve Tandy has confirmed he will make changes for next Saturday's daunting clash against world champions South Africa in Durban. Following the disappointing defeat to Argentina in Santa Fe, Tandy said he will freshen up his team for the toughest test in world rugby. "Everyone might not get a chance but we'll definitely make some changes from the game," Tandy said. "It's a lot of travel and it is physical. You are playing Fiji and the Barbarians as well which has been big for us. Argentina was also a big game. We'll assess everyone and see how they pull up and make a decision tomorrow evening on the team."
Despite being overpowered by the Pumas, Tandy remains confident Wales are heading in the right direction. "I talk a lot about us and where we are going from first, second and third campaign," he said. "We had a great result last week and again we would like more from our performance but I think that's the expectation we have as a group going forward. There's disappointment but going to the world champions we know they can probably put two or three teams out that are really impressive. It's good for us to learn from today and then assess how we want to go and attack the game next Saturday."
Tandy expressed disappointment with the result and the first-half performance but praised his team's resilience. "I'm obviously disappointed with the result. I'm disappointed with some of the performance in the first-half but I thought our boys stuck in and potentially could have got four tries and a losing bonus point. There's a lot of lessons in there for us coming away from home we need to be more accurate. Argentina probably dominated the physicality piece early doors so that's something we definitely need to have a look at going forward."
Townsend Criticises Headbutt Decision
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has criticised the decision not to send off South Africa's Ben-Jason Dixon for a dangerous clear-out on Scott Cummings during their Nations Championship clash. Dixon was shown a yellow card by referee Pierre Brousset for the incident two minutes into the second half, and the decision stood after an off-field review, with the contact deemed 'glancing'. Townsend, however, believes the Stormers forward was fortunate to stay on the pitch. "It looked like a head-on-head collision," Townsend said. "I heard that it was a glancing blow, so I was obviously disappointed that a headbutt, which is what it looked like from my own case, was viewed that way."
Townsend acknowledged that not all calls would go Scotland's way but also pointed to his team's discipline issues. "I think we understood going into this game that not all the calls would be in our favour, and the players had to adjust to that, and they did in the main. But I think we also have to look at ourselves, and our discipline at times just gave South Africa a couple of easy inroads into that second half, where we put so much effort into creating opportunities."
England Lose Mitchell to Hamstring Injury
England scrum-half Alex Mitchell has been ruled out of the Nations Championship clash against Argentina after sustaining a hamstring injury in the 73-8 victory over Fiji on Saturday. Mitchell came on as a second-half replacement for Jack van Poortvliet but lasted only nine minutes before limping off the field. The British and Irish Lions scrum-half has a history of hamstring problems, including an injury that kept him out of the Six Nations earlier this season. He will miss England's trip to Santiago del Estero.
Head coach Steve Borthwick said: "I don't know at this stage whether it's a recurrence of the hamstring injury he's had a couple of times already this season, nor can I confirm the length at this early stage of how long he's going to be absent for, but it looks like he won't be able to be part of next week."
