Fit-again Dan Biggar makes his return to the Wales 23 for Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Argentina
Fly-half Dan Biggar in action for Wales against Australia at the Rugby World Cup.
Experienced fly-half Dan Biggar has recovered from a pectoral injury to take his place in the Wales starting line-up for their Rugby World Cup clash against Argentina.
The playmaker sustained the problem in the early stages of their 40-6 victory over Australia, a result which took them into the knockout stages.
Although Biggar was a late inclusion on the bench for the Georgia encounter, head coach Warren Gatland opted not to bring him on due to concerns around that injury.
However, he has trained this week and takes his place in the Wales XV alongside Gareth Davies at half-back.
Gareth Anscombe out
Biggar was added to the bench last weekend after Gareth Anscombe pulled up with a groin injury and he has not recovered in time to be selected in the squad.
That means youngster Sam Costelow is the fly-half cover among the replacements.
Elsewhere in the starting backline, Liam Williams has passed a fitness test to be named at full-back.
Williams is alongside Louis Rees-Zammit and Josh Adams in the back three, while at centre, the reliable George North and Nick Tompkins once again combine.
Up front, Gatland has opted for dual opensides after Taulupe Faletau’s tournament was ended, with Tommy Reffell coming in to join Aaron Wainwright, who shifts to number eight, and captain Jac Morgan in the back-row.
That is the only significant selection in the pack as the head coach has kept faith with the front five that started against the Wallabies.
Bench calls
On the bench, Dewi Lake and Dillon Lewis are preferred to Elliot Dee and Henry Thomas respectively as front-row cover, while Christ Tshiunza gets in ahead of Taine Basham.
Tomos Williams and Rio Dyer maintain their places in the squad to complete the 23 for the Argentina encounter.
Gatland said: “We had a goal of making the quarter-finals which we have achieved. Now it’s about building on that momentum.
“It’s exciting to enter into the knock-out stages of the tournament and we are ready for the challenge of a quarter-final. All our preparation has been geared to getting to this spot and we’re very much relishing the opportunity.
“We’re expecting another tough encounter this weekend against a physical Argentina side. We haven’t had the perfect performance yet, but we have shown that we are a hard team to beat.
“There is a lot more growth in this squad – collectively and individually – and we can’t wait to get out there in Marseille on Saturday.”
Wales team to play Argentina
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Jac Morgan (c), 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Dafydd Jenkins, 20 Christ Tshiunza, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Rio Dyer
Date: Saturday, October 14
Venue: Stade de Marseille
Kick-off: 17:00 local (16:00 BST, 15:00 GMT)
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (England), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
