Wales boss Warren Gatland makes six changes for Georgia clash

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has made six changes to his starting line-up for next Saturday’s Rugby World Cup clash against Georgia in Nantes.

Hooker Dewi Lake will captain the team, with his co-skipper Jac Morgan rested from the matchday 23.

There are also starts for wing Rio Dyer, fly-half Gareth Anscombe, scrum-half Tomos Williams, lock Dafydd Jenkins and flanker Tommy Reffell.

Anscombe, who scored 23 points in Wales’ record 40-6 win against Australia eight days ago, starts instead of Dan Biggar.

Biggar went off early during the Wallabies clash after suffering a pectoral muscle strain.

And Anscombe is now handed the number 10 shirt, being partnered at half-back by Williams, who replaces Gareth Davies.

Dyer earns a start instead of Josh Adams, with Lake in for Ryan Elias, Jenkins taking over from Adam Beard and Reffell replacing Morgan.

Wing Louis Rees-Zammit and number eight Taulupe Faletau will start their fourth successive games of the tournament.

There are opportunities among the replacements, meanwhile, for prop Nicky Smith, lock Christ Tshiunza and fly-half Sam Costelow.

Wales’ victory over Australia secured a last-eight spot for a fourth successive World Cup campaign under Gatland.

They need a point from the Georgia game to guarantee finishing top, with Japan their likely quarter-final opponents in Marseille later this month.

Team: L Williams (Kubota Spears); L Rees-Zammit (Gloucester), G North (Ospreys), N Tompkins (Saracens), R Dyer (Dragons); G Anscombe (Suntory Sungoliath), T Williams (Cardiff); G Thomas (Ospreys), D Lake (Ospreys, capt), T Francis (Provence), W Rowlands (Racing 92), D Jenkins (Exeter), A Wainwright (Dragons), T Reffell (Leicester), T Faletau (Cardiff).

Replacements: E Dee (Dragons), N Smith (Ospreys), H Thomas (Montpellier), C Tshiunza (Exeter), T Basham (Dragons), G Davies (Scarlets), S Costelow (Scarlets), M Grady (Cardiff).