Smith and Thomas named in Wales squad

8th July

Rugby

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac sticks with the pack that dominated Canada in Cardiff last weekend with Nicky Smith, Elliot Dee and Dillon Lewis providing an experienced front-row.

Ben Carter and Will Rowlands combine in the second-row, while Ross Moriarty, James Botham and Aaron Wainwright team up in the back-row.

Another Ospreys loosehead, Gareth Thomas, is named on the bench.

In the backs, Kieran Hardy comes in for Tomos Williams; Hallam Amos comes in at fullback for the injured Leigh Halfpenny, and Owen Lane makes a start on the left wing.

“Argentina provide the perfect opponents for us this weekend and are the exact test we want for this group of players,” said Pivac.

“We will be tested up front and the physicality will be at a level that some of these players have not experienced before but that will answer a lot of questions for us as we build towards Rugby World Cup 2023.

“It’s great to play in Cardiff once again and we want to play an exciting brand of rugby, which will have supporters up off their feet. It promises to be a great occasion.”

There is one further change among the replacements with Jarrod Evans recovering from the ankle injury that ruled him out from facing Canada.

WALES TEAM TO FACE ARGENTINA ON SATURDAY, JULY 10 (13.00)

1 Nicky Smith (Ospreys) (40 caps)

2 Elliot Dee (Dragons) (38 caps)

3 Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Rugby) (29 caps)

4 Ben Carter (Dragons) (1 cap)

5 Will Rowlands (Dragons) (8 caps)

6 Ross Moriarty (Dragons) (46 caps)

7 James Botham (Cardiff Rugby) (7 caps)

8 Aaron Wainwright (Dragons) (30 caps)

9 Kieran Hardy (Scarlets) (5 caps)

10 Callum Sheedy (Bristol Bears) (10 caps)