Wales v Georgia: Scarlets' Josh Macleod to make debut at number eight

Josh Macleod will make his Wales debut as a number eight in the game against Georgia.

There is still no room for Alun Wyn Jones in the side that beat Argentina.

Josh Adams and Owen Watkin are in the backs.

There are two uncapped players in the replacements.

The injured Will Rowlands and Dan Lydiate were not the only ones who needed to be replaced.

Macleod's patience rewarded

A long time has passed since Macleod was capped. He was injured a day before the Test squad was to be formed.

He was named in the side to play in the Six Nations in Scotland in February 2021, but an hour later he tore his ankle in a training session and missed the rest of the season.

Macleod takes the place of Faletau, while Morgan takes the place of Lydiate.

The last time Macleod started at number eight was against Leinster.

Number eights like James Ratti are not included in the squad.

Josh has been unfortunate in the past.

This is the third time we've tried to use him, so it's very lucky for him.

The back row is covered by him. I have coached him at the Scarlets.

"He brings a lot of energy, he's very strong over the ball and in conjunction with Jac Morgan hopefully that will be a strong part of our game on the weekend."

We're looking forward to seeing how physical he will be.

"Dafydd is a young player that we've had an eye on for a while now."

He's doing well with the Wales Under-20s and at the same time he's doing well at the club. He's very happy with what he's seeing.

"Daf captained that side last week so his leadership is valued and already in camp for a very short time, he has picked everything up very quickly."

We are looking forward to seeing him go. He's definitely a player for the future and we think this is the chance to have a look at him.

Winger Adams will start his first game in almost a month after recovering from a hand injury.

The fly-half is named Priestland instead of Anscombe.

Halfpenny comes back after recovering from a injury.

Wales bounced back from their loss to New Zealand to beat Argentina.

Georgia will be similar to Argentina in terms of their forward play, according to Pivac.

They've always been very physical and good in the set piece.

We need to be more clinical with the ball.

I think a response will be what we're looking for on the weekend.

Discipline early on is going to be important for us because we have gifted the opposition points early in the last two matches.

England-based players will not be available due to the fact that Wales host Australia on 26 November.

Wales team to face Georgia: North, Watkin, Adams, Priestland, G Thomas, Owens, D Lewis, Carter, Beard, J Morgan, Tipuric.

Replacements: Blacker, Costelow, Halfpenny.