Wales have added Cardiff Blues trio James Botham, Lloyd Williams and Willis Halaholo to their Guinness Six Nations squad ahead of Saturday’s trip to face Scotland.
The reinforcements arrive as a result of the knocks sustained by four players in Wales’ Round 1 victory over Ireland, with Dan Lydiate to miss the remainder of the Championship after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury on his international comeback.
Tomos Williams (hamstring), Johnny Williams (head injury) and Hallam Amos (head injury) will also miss the visit to BT Murrayfield, leading to opportunities for the Blues trio to impress.
Back-rower Botham, 22, made his international debut against Georgia in the Autumn Nations Cup and went on to retain his starting spot for the games against England and Italy.
31-year-old scrum-half Lloyd Williams has featured 31 times for his country and played his first Championship match since 2016 in last October’s re-arranged Round 5 clash against Saturday’s opponents Scotland at Parc y Scarlets.
Halaholo, the only uncapped member of the trio, has been an integral part of the Cardiff Blues backline since his arrival in the Welsh capital in 2016.
Earlier that year, the New Zealand-born centre had helped Hurricanes win their first ever Super Rugby title and upon qualifying for Wales on residency grounds in 2019, Halaholo was named in Wayne Pivac’s first squad as national head coach ahead of the clash with Barbarians.
The 30-year-old did not make the matchday squad on that occasion, an uncapped match, but has now been called upon once more to add to Pivac’s options ahead of Round 2.
Both Wales and Scotland will name their teams for Saturday’s clash at 12pm on Thursday.
Guinness Six Nations Round 2 team announcements – all you need to know
