Former England winger is set to start against them in the Six Nations for Wales

Monday, 10 March 2025 at 21:31

byRugby Rucker

Former England Under-20 wing Josh Hathaway is in line to face the country he once starred for at junior level, as Wales grapple with a major wing crisis ahead of their Six Nations showdown, according to Mail Online.

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The two fierce rivals will clash in Cardiff on ‘Super Saturday,’ with England still clinging to an outside shot at the title. Meanwhile, Wales are battling to end a brutal 16-Test losing streak and avoid finishing bottom of the Six Nations for a second year running.

Wales' wing crisis deepens

On Monday, Wales confirmed that wings Tom Rogers (fractured thumb) and Josh Adams (hamstring) will miss the England clash, leaving them desperately short of options out wide.

That opens the door for Gloucester’s Hathaway, 21, to step up at Principality Stadium. Born in Wales, Hathaway played for both England and Wales at Under-20 level, making him one of the rare players to have worn both nations’ colours.

He lit up the 2023 U20 Six Nations with a hat-trick for England against Scotland in just 15 minutes. However, by the summer of 2024, Hathaway committed his international future to Wales and made his senior Test debut in Australia.

Other players to have played for both England and Wales

Hathaway isn’t the first player to have represented both England and Wales at some level. Here are some others who crossed the border:

Nick Tompkins – Played for England U20s but later switched to Wales, making his senior debut in 2020.
Johnny Williams – Represented England in an uncapped match in 2020 before committing to Wales.
Ross Moriarty – England U20s star before switching allegiance to Wales, where he won a Six Nations title.
Elliot Kear – Represented England in rugby league before playing union for Wales.

With Hathaway now fully committed to Wales, England will be hoping he doesn’t come back to haunt them on Saturday.

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Here are three changes England must make for their final Six Nations clash.

#1. Ellis Genge

Planet Rugby: "Again, didn’t get to do much scrummaging but on the whole was fine. Carried hard when given the chance and got about in defence."

Telegraph: "Probably his quietest performance of the Championship so far. Won an early scrum penalty but then got pinged for sealing off right in front of the posts."

Mail Online: Warned for protesting with referee in the first half after being penalised for sealing off. Added a couple of trademark carries in attack.

Evening Standard: "Warned by the referee for his reaction to giving away a contentious late first-half penalty as he had too much to say for himself. Not his best day otherwise but useful in the loose."

Replacement: Fin Baxter

#2. Ollie Lawrence

RUCK: Lawrence made some strong carries early on and shipped a nice offload in contact. He went down untouched in the attacking line and was unfortunately forced off the field with an injury, possibly ending his Six Nations campaign.

Guardian: "A silky offload during England’s first attack, but day cut short by an apparent hamstring injury."

Telegraph: "Such a shame. Would have been right in the mix for a Lions starting shirt, but now that appears to be a long shot after looking to have done to his achilles."

Planet Rugby: "Was going very well but picked up a nasty-looking injury and was later seen in a boot. Hopefully, it isn’t as bad as first feared."

Mail Online: "Left the pitch with his head in his hands in the eighth minute, collapsing in a heap with a suspected Achilles injury. Marcus Smith replaced him in a re-jigged backline."

Replacement: Elliot Daly

#3. Elliot Daly

Telegraph: "Signalled England’s attacking intent by leading out the first long ball. Moved to outside centre and was generally assured, but gave away a couple of penalties"

Replacement: Marcus Smith

QUIZ: Can You Name the England XV that Won the 2020 Six Nations?

England last won the Six Nations in 2020, in what was a crowning achievement during the Eddie Jones era. Coming off the back of the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final heartbreak, England bounced back to win their seventh Six Nations title since the competition's Italian expansion in 2000.

England secured the trophy with a win in Rome, as they handed Italy a one-sided 34-5 bonus point defeat. We are challenging you to remember who started for England that day, as the match was played in front of an empty stadium during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

You have five minutes to provide your answers, good luck!

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