Taine Basham will start at number eight for Wales against New Zealand on Saturday. It is his first international start in four years. He replaces the injured Aaron Wainwright for the Nations Championship match, BBC Sport reported.
Head coach Steve Tandy has made four changes to his starting side. James Botham starts at flanker instead of his Cardiff teammate Alex Mann, with Jac Morgan completing the back row. Lock Adam Beard comes in for Ben Carter. Beard, 30, will win his 69th cap after playing for his French club Montpellier last weekend.
The biggest call is on the wing. Josh Adams scored two tries in the 28-21 win over Japan but has been left out. Leicester's Gabriel Hamer-Webb takes his place and wins only his second cap. The 26-year-old started the Six Nations defeat to Scotland in February and recently scored a hat-trick against Saracens in the Prem.
Wainwright, Wales' most effective ball-carrier in recent times, picked up a minor calf injury against Japan. He has spent the week in a protective boot as he battles to be fit for the Australia match. Sale prop Tomas Francis is out for the rest of the campaign, and Cardiff tight-head Keiron Assiratti has been called into the squad. Rhys Carre is not in the match-day 23.
Basham earned his recall with strong form for Cardiff. His last Wales appearance came off the bench against England in the 2024 Six Nations. His last start was against the same opponents in 2022. Tandy said Basham had not given up and had worked hard to get back. He added that he was excited to see him play on Saturday.
Wales face a huge task. They have not beaten New Zealand since 1953, and the All Blacks have won the last 34 meetings. New Zealand have scored more than 50 points on each of their past three trips to Cardiff. Dave Rennie's side beat Scotland 43-21 in Edinburgh last weekend.
Wales also need to fix their line-out after losing six on their own throw against Japan. Tandy said some of his team's execution last Saturday was not where they wanted it. He said Wales must go up another level and be more ruthless against "one of the best teams in the world".