Six Nations 2021: Wales coach Wayne Pivac considers keeping George North at centre
Last updated on .From the section Welsh Rugby
| Six Nations 2021: Wales v Ireland |
|---|
| Date: Sunday, 7 February Kick-off: 15:00 GMT Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff |
| Coverage: Live on BBC One, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC iPlayer & Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Sport website and app, S4C. Highlights, Scrum V, BBC Two Wales from 19:00 GMT on Sunday |
Wales coach Wayne Pivac is considering keeping George North in the centre against Ireland despite wing Josh Adams being suspended for a Covid-19 breach.
Adams will miss the opening Six Nations matches against Ireland and Scotland after attending a family party which broke lockdown rules.
With Liam Williams banned, Gloucester wing Louis Rees-Zammit is set to make his Six Nations debut.
Hallam Amos could then line up on the other wing.
The Cardiff Blues wing has returned to the squad after missing the autumn international campaign.
When asked about potential replacements, Pivac said "We've got George North, Hallam Amos and Louis Rees-Zammit and some midfielders that have been training very well. So we've got options there."
North started at 13 in the Autumn Nations Cup win against Italy where he played alongside Jonathan Davies, who was a late starting replacement for calf injury victim Johnny Williams who is fit again.
North and Williams could line up in the midfield with Davies missing out.
Liam Williams will miss the Ireland opener after being sent off while playing for Scarlets against Cardiff Blues but will be available for the trip to Murrayfield on 13 February.
Rees-Zammit made his debut against France in a friendly in October 2021 and started against England, Georgia and Italy in the Autumn Nations Cup.
"He's been training very well and got a lot of confidence out of the autumn series," said Pivac.
"He's seen Liam get suspended and now seen another winger in Josh get suspended. He's trained well and is expecting now to get a call when the team is named. I'd be very surprised if he didn't."
'Lucky' Adams
Meanwhile, former Wales wing Dafydd James believes Adams is lucky he only received a two-match suspension after breaking lockdown rules by attending a family event on Sunday.
The Cardiff Blues wing has apologised for the incident.
"It's a government ruling and with the pandemic going on he's been very silly. I think he's lucky it's only two games," said James.
"He's made an error of judgement there, he's going to be ruing that decision and rightly so.
"The Welsh Rugby Union has dealt with it very promptly.
"Social media can be quite cruel and I'd just say 'be kind'. There's no need to be that scathing. It is what it is, he's human, he made an error of judgement and he's paying the price."
