Wales Banking on Hybrid Players as Nations Championship Replacements Needed

Exeter’s Dafydd Jenkins shoulder injury sustained in the Gallagher PREM final has most certainly thrown a spanner into the works, as after an uplifting conclusion to the Six Nations, the 23-year-old looked set to pair with Dragons’ Ben Carter throughout the summer Tests.

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Ever since Carter was given the green light to start against Scotland, Ireland, and Italy alongside Jenkins, the pair had been flourishing on all fronts. Lineouts in the past were an area of weakness for Wales, but the calmness and intelligence of these two meant their side could use them as a catalyst in attack.

That was down to Jenkins’ calling; however, that won’t be the case this summer. Instead, Carter will be joined by Montpellier’s Adam Beard, who is returning to the Welsh setup following competing in the Top 14 final last weekend.

Against Fiji, it will be Beard’s first start since Wales lost 54-12 against France at Principality Stadium in February. But once again, as is the case for many exciting new pairings involving Wales, it has been brutally broken days out from the opening Test.

And this leaves a considerable number of questions regarding the selection in the second-row.

For the Fiji contest at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday, head coach Tandy is relying on the versatility and excellence of Scarlets’ Taine Plumtree to cover the second-row. Plumtree excelled last weekend in an uncapped fixture against the Barbarians, but did so from blind-side, not in the engine room.

It’s not a bad replacement at the disposal of Tandy, as he ended his United Rugby Championship campaign on the front foot, scoring against the Ospreys once and twice against the Dragons. Those standout performances have, however, often been overshadowed by ill discipline.

During the 2025/26 season alone, he had seven yellow cards. Twice last season in back-to-back matches, he was sidelined for ten minutes, with the standout coming in the 2025 autumn internationals against Japan and New Zealand.

His discipline is a concern, but the real question here is how much of an impact player is Plumtree? The only other option that Tandy had from his selected 33-man Nations Championship squad was Cardiff’s Teddy Williams.

The 25-year-old played last weekend against the Baa-Baas, which was his first appearance since facing Connacht in the United Rugby Championship in October after dislocating his right foot.

Understandably, Tandy hasn’t risked him for this encounter against Fiji, which would have been his first Test match since last July in Kobe, Japan.

But, after only naming three out-and-out second-rows (Carter, Beard, and Williams) for a demanding summer schedule, it is no wonder that so many raised their eyebrows when neither Gloucester’s Freddie Thomas nor Dragons’ Ryan Woodman, both named in the original extended training squad, but both have not been selected.

Woodman has remained in camp and, like Plumtree and Thomas, offers a great deal of versatility when it comes to covering either the second-row or the back-row.

When asked whether Wales are light on their second-row stocks, Tandy disagreed. “I don’t think it’s light,” he admitted.

“We had Freddie as well. Freddie was in the squad. Again, Beardy (Adam Beard) is coming back.

“Losing Daf was obviously a big blow, but also, I think, where the game is at, that some of these hybrids (players) are coming in.

Unlike England and Scotland this summer, Wales has to cross the equator only once, but even then, game management is going to be key, and Tandy cannot afford injuries anymore.

If that is the case, or with the demands of then travelling across five time zones from San Juan to Durban, both Thomas and Woodman will likely be called upon as reinforcements.

These are the logistical challenges facing Tandy this summer, and Tandy highlights the possibility of bringing players in for either the two flights to Argentina or flying them straight to South Africa.

“There is that,” Tandy added. “Obviously it’s a little bit different because it was harder this time, where you have a home game, so you have a wider squad, but whereas if you were away for three Tests, you would probably take a 38-39 man squad.

“So it’s been difficult for some of those boys, but then probably it’s easier for them to fly straight to South Africa than it is to go to Argentina and go there. So we have taken a World Cup sort of number, 33, but again there is that potential (for players being called upon).

“It’s going to be a pretty physical encounter (against Fiji), and then there’s that potential that people might be added to the flight or actually going straight to South Africa off the back of that.