- Wales loast 14 straight matches under Warren Gatland before he was moved on
- Sherratt will take charge of Wales for the remainder of the Six Nations campiagn
Wales interim coach Matt Sherratt is set to bring Gloucester’s Gareth Anscombe and Max Llewellyn straight in from the cold to start in his team’s Six Nations clash with Ireland.
After being parachuted in to succeed Warren Gatland for the final three games of the Championship last week, Sherratt wasted no time in calling up fly-half Anscombe, centre Llewellyn and Jarrod Evans of Harlequins, all of whom missed out on selection initially.
Mail Sport understands Anscombe and Llewellyn will be part of the Wales XV when Grand Slam-chasing Ireland arrive in Cardiff on Saturday.
Sherratt is also likely to hand a shock Wales debut to Ellis Mee of the Scarlets, who is a contender to start on the wing at Principality Stadium.
When Gatland named his Six Nations squad in January, the absence of Anscombe and Llewellyn was a big surprise, especially given both have been in fine form for a Gloucester side riding high in third in the Gallagher Premiership this season.
Now, with Gatland departed after he presided over a Welsh record run of 14 consecutive Test defeats, Sherratt has shaken things up.
Mail Sport understands Gareth Anscombe is set to return to Wales first XV against Ireland
New Wales interim coach Matt Sherratt is set to make a host of changes for his first Six Nations match in charge
Max Llewellyn (left) and Jarrod Evans (right) have also both been brought back by Sherratt
It is no real surprise that Anscombe and Llewellyn are poised to return. However, the anticipated selection of 21-year-old Mee undoubtedly is.
Mee only joined the Llanelli-based Scarlets in the summer and is in his first full season of professional rugby having signed from English Championship side Nottingham.
Mee has played just 10 senior competitive professional games and has appeared for Llandovery in Welsh rugby’s semi-professional Super Rygbi Cymru this season.
Mee wasn’t a part of the matchday squad for Wales’ first two Six Nations defeats by France and Italy. He played for the Scarlets last weekend in their United Rugby Championship defeat by Munster.
Facing Ireland would be a baptism of fire for Mee, but at six foot four, he is an imposing figure and good under the high ball which would help him against Ireland’s strong kicking game. Sherratt favours an attacking brand of rugby which he has implemented in his day job coaching Cardiff. He will return to that role when the Six Nations ends.
Sherratt’s back-line for the daunting clash with Ireland will be dominated by players he knows well in scrum-half Tomos Williams, Anscombe, Llewellyn and Ben Thomas.
That – combined with naming the team early – makes sense given Sherratt only has four sessions with Wales before facing Ireland.
Gatland started Thomas at fly-half in Wales’ first two Six Nations games, but Sherratt has always seen him as an inside centre and that is where he is poised to play against Ireland.
Warren Gatland left his role as Wales head coach after overseeing 14 consecutive defeats
Ellis Mee of Scarlets is set to be handed a shock debut in a much-changed Wales side this weekend
Blair Murray is set to continue in the full-back position he started in at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico after Liam Williams underwent knee surgery which will keep him out of the rest of the Six Nations. Josh Adams and Mee are the likely wings.
‘There’s no hiding away from the fact this is a pretty low point,’ back-row Aaron Wainwright said of Wales’ winless international run which dates back to their last pool game of the 2023 World Cup. ‘Looking at the results, it’s quite easy to see something hasn’t been right.
‘We are on a run of defeats. Everyone goes out each weekend to try and put that right. We don’t go out there to lose. And I think an important thing for us is that we are going to be playing in a packed-out Principality Stadium this weekend, so what a great chance to go out there and put a performance in against one of the best teams in the world.
‘That’s what we’re all aiming towards.’
Sherratt has aimed to bring a feelgood factor and some confidence back to the Welsh camp in the limited time he has with the players ahead of the Ireland game.
Wales are 25/1 outsiders and an Irish win is firmly expected, but signs of Welsh progression and positivity after an alarming fall from grace at the end of Gatland’s second stint as head coach would represent success of sorts.
