Wales call up Plumtree for must-win Italy Six Nations clash
Today at 09:31 AM
Wales have added Scarlets back-rower Taine Plumtree to their squad ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations clash against Italy following a facial injury to Aaron Wainwright.
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Number eight Wainwright was injured early in Friday’s 43-0 hammering by France in Paris.
Wales are waiting for the results of a scan but there are fears the 27-year-old may have suffered a broken cheekbone.
Match in Rome
Meanwhile, Ospreys centre Owen Watkin is being assessed after sustaining a knee injury.
Sale prop WillGriff John has rejoined the squad in Nice, where Wales are based ahead of their second Six Nations game in Rome.
John failed a head injury assessment in Sale’s defeat by Bath in the English Premiership last week.
Wales’ defeat against France was a 13th successive Test loss and they failed to score in a Five Nations or Six Nations game for the first time since 1998.
Warren Gatland’s team finished bottom of the table in 2024, losing all five of their matches.
Meanwhile, Italy lost their Six Nations opener 31-19 against Scotland.
Kick-off on Saturday is at 16:45 (SA time).
WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 1 OF SIX NATIONS
| RANK | COUNTRY | POINTS |
| 1 | South Africa | 92.78 |
| 2 | Ireland | 90.78 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 90.36 |
| 4 | France | 88.51 |
| 5 | Argentina | 84.97 |
| 6 | Scotland | 83.57 |
| 7 | England | 82.31 |
| 8 | Australia | 81.52 |
| 9 | Fiji | 80.07 |
| 10 | Italy | 78.41 |
| 11 | Wales | 74.01 |
| 12 | Georgia | 73.85 |
| 13 | Japan | 72.95 |
| 14 | Samoa | 72.68 |
| 15 | USA | 70.02 |
| 16 | Portugal | 68.82 |
| 17 | Uruguay | 67.06 |
| 18 | Spain | 65.98 |
| 19 | Tonga | 65.46 |
| 20 | Romania | 63.01 |
How bad are Wales – on a scale of 1 to 10?
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