ABERYSTWYTH’S Josh Hathaway has been selected for the Wales XV to face Australia at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.
The former Ysgol Penglais pupil has been selected to start on the wing by head coach Warren Gatland against the Wallabies for his senior international debut and will become the 1,207th men’s player to represent Wales.
He will be only the second player from Aberystwyth to receive the honour, following in the footsteps of Bill Morris, of Borth, who was capped twice in 1963.
After being selected for the squad for the squad last month the 20-year-old Gloucester Rugby player: “It’s been a dream of mine to play for Wales since I was about three or four years old.
“It’s going to be a huge learning step and great experience and I’m very excited to get in amongst the boys and the best of the best coaching set up.”
Gatland said: “We’ve had a good week of preparations here in Sydney and are excited to get out on field on Saturday.
“This first Test is going to be a great challenge for us. Test matches are all about fine margins and we know we need to be accurate, keep our discipline and stay in the fight for the full 80 minutes.”
Wales XV to face Australia: 15. Liam Williams (Kubota Spears – 90 caps), 14. Josh Hathaway (Gloucester Rugby – uncapped), 13. Owen Watkin (Ospreys – 39 caps), 12. Mason Grady (Cardiff Rugby – 12 caps), 11. Rio Dyer (Dragons – 20 caps), 10. Ben Thomas (Cardiff Rugby – 2 caps), 9. Ellis Bevan (Cardiff Rugby – 1 cap), 1. Gareth Thomas (Ospreys – 31 caps), 2. Dewi Lake (Ospreys – 13 caps), 3. Archie Griffin (Bath Rugby – 1 cap), 4. Christ Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs – 10 caps), 5. Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs – 17 caps), 6. Taine Plumtree (Scarlets – 3 caps), 7. Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers – 18 caps), 8. Aaron Wainwright (Dragons – 49 caps)
Replacements: 16. Evan Lloyd (Cardiff Rugby – 3 caps), 17. Kemsley Mathias (Scarlets – 3 caps), 18. Harri O’Connor (Scarlets – 2 caps), 19. Cory Hill (Secom Rugguts – 32 caps), 20. James Botham (Cardiff Rugby – 11 caps), 21. Kieran Hardy (Ospreys – 21 caps), 22. Sam Costelow (Scarlets – 13 caps), 23. Nick Tompkins (Saracens – 36 caps)
2024 AUSTRALIA TOUR FIXTURES
Saturday 6 July: Australia v Wales Allianz Stadium, Sydney KO 10.45h BST / 19.45h local time
Saturday 13 July: Australia v Wales AAMI Park, Melbourne KO 10.45 BST / 19.45h local time
Friday 19 July: Queensland Reds v Wales Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane KO 10.45 BST / 19.45h local time