Rugby-Wales change three as Costelow gets the nod at flyhalf to face Argentina


Rugby Union - Six Nations Championship - Wales v Italy - Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Britain - March 14, 2026 Wales' Ellis Mee in action with Italy's Monty Ioane Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers/File Photo

July 9 (Reuters) - Wales ⁠have made three changes to their starting ⁠XV for the second Nations Championship fixture against ‌Argentina on Saturday with Ellis Mee on the wing and Sam Costelow at fly-half.

• Mee replaces Louis Rees-Zammit, who drops ​to the bench, while Costelow is ⁠preferred to Dan ⁠Edwards, who started the 39-24 win over Fiji in ⁠Cardiff ‌last weekend.

• The third change sees James Botham come into the side for Alex ⁠Mann at flanker.

• Back-row forward Kane James, ​21, is ‌set to make his Test debut after being ⁠named as ​a replacement.

• "It's a great opportunity for those boys coming in and an exciting challenge," coach Steve Tandy ⁠said. "Kane is an exciting player. He's ​so powerful and quick. The way he's come into the environment and just jumped straight in shows he ⁠hasn't been tentative in anything he does."

• Starting XV: 15-Blair Murray, 14-Ellis Mee, 13-Eddie James, 12-Joe Hawkins, 11-Josh Adams, 10-Sam Costelow, 9-Tomos Williams, 8-Aaron Wainwright, ​7-Jac Morgan, 6-James Botham, 5-Adam ⁠Beard, 4-Ben Carter, 3-Dillon Lewis, 2-Dewi Lake (captain), 1-Rhys ​Carre.

• Replacements: 16-Ryan Elias, 17-Nicky Smith, ‌18-Ben Warren, 19-Teddy Williams, 20-Kane ​James, 21-Kieran Hardy, 22-Max Llewellyn, 23-Louis Rees-Zammit.

(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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