Dafydd Jenkins Named in Wales' Six Nations Opener

Dafydd Jenkins has been named to start as captain in Wales' Six Nations opener against Scotland this weekend.

Wales senior men’s head coach Warren Gatland has named his team to face Scotland at a sold out Principality Stadium in the opening round of the 2024 Guinness Six Nations on Saturday 3 February (KO 4.45pm live on BBC and S4C).

At 21 years and 60 days old on Saturday, Dafydd Jenkins will become the second youngest man to captain Wales after Sir Gareth Edwards. Adam Beard partners Jenkins in the second row.

Gatland said: “Cameron Winnett is just a lovely footballer and I think he’s going to develop into a quality international player in the future. He’s young and there’ll be no pressure on him. We’ve been impressed with the way that he’s trained. He’s done really well in training, progressed really well and following consultation with his surgeon everyone was happy for him to be selected.

“It’s also great that Alex Mann is on the bench and will hopefully get his debut as well.

“I think there’s a really nice balance in the squad. We’ve got some players who were involved in the world cup so have some experience and then some exciting youngsters and when I look at that forward pack, it’s not a small forward pack. It’s a big forward pack.

“Scotland haven’t won here in a long, long time and it’s an opportunity for us to continue with that record. The roof’s going to be open, Scotland want the roof open which I think is a little bit disappointing from an atmosphere point of view, because when that roof is shut it does tend to create a lot more atmosphere and noise in the stadium. But that’s the decision that they made.

“The players understand how important this first game is in the competition. The sold out stadium, go out there, you get the Six Nations off to a good start, you can create some momentum.

“I’ve been really pleased with their attitude and the way that they’ve trained this week and we should be really excited about this first game.”

Wales

15. Cameron Winnett (Cardiff Rugby – uncapped)

14. Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby - 54 caps)

13. Owen Watkin (Ospreys – 36 caps)

12. Nick Tompkins (Saracens – 32 caps)

11. Rio Dyer (Dragons – 14 caps)

10. Sam Costelow (Scarlets – 8 caps)

9. Gareth Davies (Scarlets – 74 caps)

1. Corey Domachowski (Cardiff Rugby – 6 caps)

2. Ryan Elias (Scarlets – 38 caps)

3. Leon Brown (Dragons / Dreigiau – 23 caps)

4. Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs – 12 caps) Captain

5. Adam Beard (Ospreys – 51 caps)

6. James Botham (Cardiff Rugby – 9 caps)

7. Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers – 13 caps)

8. Aaron Wainwright (Dragons – 43 caps)

Replacements

16. Elliot Dee (Dragons – 46 caps)

17. Kemsley Mathias (Scarlets – 1 cap)

18. Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff Rugby – 2 caps)

19. Teddy Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 1 cap)

20. Alex Mann (Cardiff Rugby – uncapped)

21. Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 53 caps)

22. Ioan Lloyd (Scarlets – 2 caps)

23. Mason Grady (Cardiff Rugby – 6 caps)