{"id":290197,"date":"2023-09-08T07:21:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T07:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/?p=290197"},"modified":"2023-09-08T07:21:02","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T07:21:02","slug":"wales-welcome-faletau-back-into-side-for-world-cup-opener-against-fiji","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allmysportsnews.com\/rugby-union\/wales-welcome-faletau-back-into-side-for-world-cup-opener-against-fiji\/","title":{"rendered":"Wales welcome Faletau back into side for World Cup opener against Fiji"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Wales welcome Taulupe Faletau back into their side for World Cup opener against Fiji after &#8217;15 weeks of hell&#8217;, with flanker Jac Morgan set to captain Warren Gatland&#8217;s outfit in Dewi Lake&#8217;s absence<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Wales get their World Cup campaign underway on Sunday when they take on Fiji\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Warren Gatland put his squad through a tough training camp over the summer<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Flanker Jac Morgan will captain the team in Bordeaux with Dewi Lake absent\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Wales\u2019 World Cup squad headed to Bordeaux from Paris yesterday via train and after \u201815 weeks of hell\u2019 welcomed No 8 Taulupe Faletau back into their side.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Warren Gatland\u2019s men face Fiji here on Sunday in their Pool C opener. They will hope their match with the Pacific Islanders is as smooth sailing as their TGV ride through France.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The reality is it is unlikely to be so, although head coach Gatland was able to mark arrival in Bordeaux by naming a strong team. Co-captain Dewi Lake won\u2019t be involved against Fiji due to a lack of training time, but Faletau is back after missing Wales\u2019 warm-up games with a calf problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Flanker Jac Morgan will captain the side with Lake not in the 23. Gareth Davies, Nick Tompkins and Aaron Wainwright are also other notable starting selections.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The medical team has done a fantastic job getting Dewi back to full fitness,\u2019 Gatland said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/08\/06\/75199635-0-image-a-1_1694150115285.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Wales have welcomed Taulupe Faletau back into their XV for the World Cup opener against Fiji<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/08\/06\/75199641-0-image-a-2_1694150116039.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Gatland has named his team after putting his side through a gruelling schedule this summer<\/p>\n<p>\u2018He\u2019s not had as much training under his belt as the other hookers since he picked up that knock to his knee (against England), so Ryan Elias and Elliot Dee are selected for this game.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After gruelling training camps in Wales, Switzerland and Turkey, Gatland\u2019s men are now ready to play.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ve had 15 weeks of hell,\u2019 said prop Corey Domachowski, who is one of 10 players poised for a World Cup bow against Fiji.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s been absolutely savage. I genuinely think if we put what we\u2019ve done on the training field on to the playing field, then we are going to be a tough team to beat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We are not going to worry about any opposition. We know we\u2019ve got quality in the squad.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wales certainly do. And after a miserable season dominated by off-field chaos, Gatland\u2019s camp is a happy one again.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The squad has worked incredibly hard over the last few months and has been preparing well for Fiji in the last couple of weeks,\u2019 Gatland said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Fiji are a good side with some great individual athletes and they play with a lot more structure now than maybe they have done traditionally.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019ve had some good clarity about what we want to achieve and the way we want to play on the weekend. It\u2019s going to be an exciting contest on Sunday and one we are relishing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018The boys are looking sharp. There\u2019s a great environment in this group with players working for each other and enjoying each other\u2019s company.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We&#8217;re in a good place and can\u2019t wait to get our World Cup campaign underway.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Scrum-half Davies has played a part in each of Wales\u2019 last 12 World Cup games in the 2015 and 2019 competitions and will start in Bordeaux with Tomos Williams on the bench.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Davies fell out of Welsh favour when the team was under the guidance of Wayne Pivac and has admitted he felt he had to change his game, something which meant he fell out of love with rugby.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Twelve months ago I probably wouldn&#8217;t have thought I would be involved in the first game of a World Cup, but anything can happen in rugby as we all know,\u2019 said the No 9.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I have worked extremely hard over the last year to work myself into contention and hopefully I can show that on Sunday.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wales\u2019 squad for Fiji contains a nice mix of youth and experience. Alongside side rookies like captain Morgan and his nine fellow World Cup debutants, Gatland can call on experience in the likes of Faletau, fly-half Dan Biggar, centre George North and full-back Liam Williams.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/08\/06\/75199675-0-image-a-4_1694150121958.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>George North is set to make his 17th World Cup appearance in what is his fourth tournament<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/08\/06\/75199647-0-image-a-3_1694150120289.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Flanker Jac Morgan will captain the side with Dewi Lake not quite ready to return to action<\/p>\n<p>North partners Tompkins in midfield and will make his 17th World Cup appearance in what is his fourth tournament. The Welsh back three looks dangerous and is made up of Liam Williams, Louis Rees-Zammit and Josh Adams.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Biggar needs only three points against Fiji to reach 100 at World Cups. \u2018It doesn\u2019t worry us too much being favourites or underdogs. Fiji are playing well and they\u2019re above us in the rankings,\u2019 said Wales skills coach Neil Jenkins.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018They&#8217;re a good side who won at Twickenham a couple of weeks back and gave France a tough time before that. We&#8217;re under no illusions. We&#8217;ll need to be right on it on Sunday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018You want to get off to the best possible start.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fiji will name their team for Wales on Friday having lost key fly-half Caleb Muntz for the whole tournament earlier this week because of a knee injury suffered in training.<\/p>\n<p><span><span>Wales side to face Fiji (kick-off 8pm Sunday, Bordeaux)<\/span>: Liam Williams; Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Gareth Thomas, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Aaron Wainwright, Jac Morgan (capt), Taulupe Faletau<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>Replacements<\/span>: Elliot Dee, Corey Domachowski, Dillon Lewis, Dafydd Jenkins, Tommy Reffell, Tomos Williams, Sam Costelow, Rio Dyer<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12494977\/Wales-Taulupe-Faletau-World-Cup-Fiji-Jac-Morgan-Warren-Gatland-Dewi-Lake.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wales welcome Taulupe Faletau back into their side for World Cup opener against Fiji after &#8217;15 weeks of hell&#8217;, with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290196,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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