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History beckons for Jones against Scotland

Inpho
Alun Wyn Jones will equal the world record for Test appearances when Wales tackle Scotland in Round 5 of the Guinness Six Nations on Saturday.

Alun Wyn Jones will equal the world record for Test appearances when Wales tackle Scotland in Round 5 of the Guinness Six Nations on Saturday.

Jones will make his 148th Test appearance in Cardiff, and his 139th for Wales, to equal former New Zealand flanker Richie McCaw.

Jones, who also has nine British & Irish Lions caps, lines up in the second row alongside Cory Hill, who is set for his first Wales appearance since February, while there is a debut for prop WillGriff John.

Wyn Jones also starts in the front row, while Rhys Webb is set for his first Wales start since November 2017 at scrum-half.

He replaces Tomos Williams from the team that lost to England at Twickenham, while Gareth Davies moves to the bench as the replacement No.9.

Wales have lost their last three Championship matches but have a strong home record against Scotland, last losing in 2002.

“Saturday is a great opportunity for us to wrap up the campaign with a big performance at home in Cardiff,” said Wales head coach Wayne Pivac.

“We want to finish with the performance we know we can deliver and we have been working hard to get there.

“Alun Wyn is one of the most iconic figures in the game, he is our leader and I’m delighted for him as he continues to set the bar across the game.”​

WALES TEAM TO PLAY SCOTLAND (Saturday March 14 14.15 BBC & S4C) 15. Leigh Halfpenny (89 Caps) 14. George North (95 Caps) 13. Nick Tompkins (4 Caps) 12. Hadleigh Parkes (29 Caps) 11. Liam Williams (63 Caps) 10. Dan Biggar (83 Caps) 9. Rhys Webb (33 Caps) 1. Wyn Jones (25 Caps) 2. Ken Owens (66 Caps) 3. WillGriff John (*Uncapped) 4. Cory Hill (25 Caps) 5. Alun Wyn Jones (C) (138 Caps) 6. Ross Moriarty (45 Caps) 7. Justin Tipuric (76 Caps) 8. Josh Navidi (24 Caps)

Replacements: 16. Ryan Elias (13 Caps) 17. Rhys Carre (8 Caps) 18. Leon Brown (10 Caps) 19. Will Rowlands (1 Cap) 20. Taulupe Faletau (76 Caps) 21. Gareth Davies (53 Caps) 22. Jarrod Evans (6 Caps) 23. Johnny McNicholl (4 Caps)