By BEN JAYCOCK
Jac Morgan makes his international debut as Wales host Scotland in the Six Nations at the Principality Stadium in round two’s early kick off at 2:15 PM on Saturday.
The back rower fills in at open-side flanker after head coach Wayne Pivac has endured a nightmare injury conundrum in the 7 jersey.
Wales are without British and Irish Lions back rowers Justin Tipuric, Josh Navidi, Taulupe Faletau and Dan Lydiate, but Morgan’s impressive form for Ospreys has given him the chance to shine.
Pivac’s side were out-played, out-muscled and out-thought by Ireland in last weekend’s 29-7 defeat and face a Scotland side full of confidence following their 20-17 victory at home to England.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has opted for a completely new front row as Pierre Schoeman, Stuart McInally and WP Nel start after impressing off the bench against England.
Townsend was dealt a blow midweek when flanker Jamie Ritchie was ruled out of the tournament through injury.
Sam Skinner replaces Ritchie, while Sione Tuipulotu replaces Sam Johnson at inside-centre and Cameron Redpath is amongst the replacements following his return from a long-term injury.
Pivac has made four changes from the loss to Ireland as Morgan and Ross Moriarty come into the back row, and in the backs Josh Adams is ruled out with a tight calf so Owen Watkin comes in, while Alex Cuthbert replaces Johnny McNicholl on the wing.
Wales head coach Pivac said: “We expect Scotland to come down full of confidence. They’ve started with a good win. Across the board they are a very competitive and committed side that throws everything at every play. We know that’s going to be tough work for us and a big challenge that we’re looking forward to and are up for.
“The players are very critical of themselves and they’re desperate to go out there and prove we’re a better team than last week. We owe it to ourselves and our public to put on a better display.”
Scotland boss Townsend said: “We should be better equipped to deal with the challenge of going to Cardiff. We’ve not been there for four years so a lot has happened in those years to this team.
“We’ve had some experiences against some top sides both home and away, and we’ve shown resilience in those games.”
A group of 100 cyclists are responsible for delivering the ball to Cardiff, setting off from BT Murrayfield on Thursday morning for the 500-mile trip in aid of the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
Did you know The Rugby Paper has a podcast? Last week, we launched The Rugby Paper Podcast with England legend Jeremy Guscott appearing as our guest to preview the opening weekend of the Six Nations.
This week, Italy and Harlequins back Tommaso Allan joins Nick Cain and Brendan Gallagher to discuss the second round of Six Nations fixtures.
Listen to Episode Two of The Rugby Paper Podcast here
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