Jenkins to start for Wales at the Aviva
Published on: 04/03/2026
Exeter Chiefs lock Dafydd Jenkins has been named to start for Wales against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Friday evening.
The Welshmen take on the round four match after being narrowly defeated by a Scottish comeback a fortnight ago.
Head coach Steve Tandy makes three changes to his starting line-up, all in the back-row as James Botham, Alex Mann and Aaron Wainwright all start.
Jenkins will line-up alongside Ben Carter in the second row.
Tandy said: “This week it’s about backing up the performance against Scotland. Going away from home is a different type of environment for our group, but the focus for us is really improving on what we did last game.
“I thought the defence against Scotland was much improved so we definitely want to double down on that going to Ireland. You see how they keep the ball in possession, they play lots of passes so we know we’re going to have to build and improve from the other week.”
The game will kick-off at 20:10 on Friday, 6 March live on ITV.
Wales:
15 Louis Rees-Zammit
14 Ellis Mee
13 Eddie James
12 Joe Hawkins
11 Josh Adams
10 Dan Edwards
9 Tomos Williams
1 Rhys Carre
2 Dewi Lake (c)
3 Tomas Francis
4 Dafydd Jenkins
5 Ben Carter
6 Alex Mann
7 James Botham
8 Aaron Wainwright
Replacements:
16 Ryan Elias
17 Nicky Smith
18 Archie Griffin
19 Adam Beard
20 Olly Cracknell
21 Kieran Hardy
22 Jarrod Evans
23 Louie Hennessey
Written By:
Exeter Chiefs Rugby Club
