By Gareth James

Wales have been forced into four changes, two of them positional, for the second Test against Australia in Melbourne on Saturday.

Two of the changes come in the back row, where Taine Plumtree moves to number eight with Aaron Wainwright ruled out of the remainder of the tour by a hamstring injury.

James Botham comes into the starting line-up at blindside flanker.

Cameron Winnett also comes into the side at full-back with Liam Williams moving to the wing, replacing Josh Hathaway who is out with an elbow injury.

Mackenzie Martin takes Botham’s place on the replacement bench.

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Coach Warren Gatland said he expects an even tougher examination from the hosts after going down 25-16 in the opening Test in Sydney.

“We’ve been going through our processes, building on what worked well and sharpening the areas that need improvement,” he said.

“We expect Australia to go up another level this weekend and we know we need to as well.

“We want to start well and make sure we are disciplined and accurate from the off. Then it’s about keeping in the arm-wrestle for the duration.”

Joe Schmidt has not gambled on Liam Wright’s fitness for Saturday’s second test after the rookie skipper was injured in Australia’s series-opening win.

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The veteran coach has only been working with the inexperienced Wallabies line-up for a couple of weeks, so he decided for the sake of clarity he would sideline Wright and go to 135-test veteran prop James Slipper to lead the squad.

Australia won the series opener but lost first-time captain Wright to a shoulder injury late in the game. It didn’t heal in time to be ready for selection.

“Post-match, we thought progress would be quick but once he wasn’t fully fit to be named for training on Tuesday, better to give certainty to the guys who are going to be there,” Schmidt said.

Charlie Cale, the 23-year-old Brumbies backrower, was given his starting debut at No. 8, moving Rob Valetini from the back to the side of the scrum to cover for Wright.

The remainder of the starting forward pack and backline was unchanged but Schmidt made multiple changes on the bench, including a potential debut for Queensland hooker Josh Nasser, son of 1991 World Cup-winner Brendan Nasser.

“It’s one of the things that we want to demonstrate — that we’re a squad-orientated group,” Schmidt said.

With the 50-cap Aaron Wainwright ruled out with a hamstring injury, the 13 Wales forwards selected in the match-day 23 for the second Test against Australia have 160 caps between them at an average of 12.3.

— Simon Thomas Rugby (@simonrug) July 11, 2024

Wales XV to face Australia

15. Cameron Winnett (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 6 caps)
14. Liam Williams (Kubota Spears – 91 caps)
13. Owen Watkin (Ospreys / Gweilch – 40 caps)
12. Mason Grady (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 13 caps)
11. Rio Dyer (Dragons / Dreigiau – 21 caps)
10. Ben Thomas (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 3 caps)
9. Ellis Bevan (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 2 caps)
1. Gareth Thomas (Ospreys / Gweilch – 32 caps)
2. Dewi Lake (Ospreys / Gweilch – 14 caps) captain / capten
3. Archie Griffin (Bath Rugby / Caerfaddon – 2 caps)
4. Christ Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs / Caerwysg – 11 caps)
5. Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs / Caerwysg – 18 caps)
6. James Botham (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 12 caps)
7. Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers / Caerlŷr – 19 caps)
8. Taine Plumtree (Scarlets – 4 caps)

Replacements

16. Evan Lloyd (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 4 caps)
17. Kemsley Mathias (Scarlets – 4 caps)
18. Harri O’Connor (Scarlets – 3 caps)
19. Cory Hill (Secom Rugguts – 33 caps)
20. Mackenzie Martin (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – 4 caps)
21. Kieran Hardy (Ospreys / Gweilch – 22 caps)
22. Sam Costelow (Scarlets – 14 caps)
23. Nick Tompkins (Saracens / Saraseniaid – 37 caps)

2024 AUSTRALIA TOUR FIXTURES

Saturday 6 July: Australia 25 v 16 Wales
Allianz Stadium, Sydney

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