SIX NATIONS NEWS:TOM PRYDIE will become the youngest Six Nations player when he starts on the right wing for Wales against Italy in Cardiff on Saturday, at the age of 18 years and 25 days. He will also set a Wales record, clipping 24 days off the mark set by Norman Biggs in 1888.
Prydie has made two starts for the Ospreys, both in the LV Cup. “I was not taking much notice when the team was announced because I was not expecting to play,” said the 6ft 4in wing. ‘I only realised what had happened when Lee Byrne nudged me. It is unbelievable.”
Prydie is one of five changes from the side that lost to Ireland. The 21-year-old flanker Sam Warburton replaces Martyn Williams and Mike Phillips, Gethin Jenkins and Ryan Jones return from injury.
Wales coach Warren Gatland said of Prydie: “Tom has been with us for the duration of the campaign, he was one of two youngsters – brought in alongside Kristian Phillips – who we wanted to have a look at and we’ve been impressed with him.
“We heard some good things about him from his region and from the coaches at under-18 level and he has lived up to that, as has Kristian as well.”
“He is the fastest player in the squad, he can play at fullback as well as on the wing and he is not afraid to tackle, so we’ll see how he goes,” continued Gatland.
Gatland explained: “We have an eye on the future as well with the selection of Sam Warburton in the backrow, but both players come into the side alongside players who will also add experience and leadership.
“We are under no illusion that Italy will be a tough prospect on Saturday, we found it hard to break them down here two years ago and they have performed well in each game of the tournament so far and, with a good win over Scotland under their belts, we will be a target for them.
“We are all very disappointed and we need to demonstrate our passion and pride in the Welsh jersey on Saturday and show everyone what it means to us to play for our country.”
France coach Marc Lievremont has recalled centre Mathieu Bastareaud ahead of David Marty to add weight to his backline for Saturday’s grand slam game against England at the Stade de France.
The return of the bulky 21-year-old centre, who has eight caps to his name, is the only change from the team that defeated Italy 46-20 last Sunday.
“David performed well against Italy but we didn’t forget Mathieu’s very good performances in the first games of the championship,” Lievremeont said.
“With rather lightweight wings and fullback, we decided to give more density to the middle of our backline.”
Bastareaud started Frances first three victories against Scotland, Ireland and Wales but was rested on the bench for the Italy game because he had not fully recovered from an ankle injury suffered in a club game during the Six Nations break.
Lievremont said the selectors also discussed the possibility of promoting Julien Malzieu on the right wing but finally decided to retain Marc Andreu, who celebrated his first full cap with a try against Italy.
“We went for Marc because he is punchy and has a lot of dynamism and aggression in defence,” Lievremont said.
There was no discussion however about giving a start to Sebastien Chabal for the first time this season in the second row.
FRANCE(v England): C Poitrenaud; M Andreu, M Bastareaud, Y Jauzion, A Palisson; F Trinh-Duc, M Parra; T Domingo, W Servat, N Mas, L Nallet, J Pierre, T Dusautoir (capt), J Bonnaire, I Harinordoquy. Replacements: D Szarzewski, J-B Poux, S Chabal, A Lapandry, D Yachvili, D Marty, J Malzieu.
WALES(v Italy): L Byrne; T Prydie, J Hook, J Roberts, S Williams; S Jones, M Phillips; G Jenkins, M Rees, A Jones, B Davies, L Charteris, J Thomas, S Warburton, R Jones (Ospreys, capt). Replacements: H Bennett, P James, I Gough, G Delve, D Peel, A Bishop, T Shanklin.
