Wing Murray to make Wales debut against Fiji

Autumn Nations Series: Wales v Fiji

Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff Date: Sunday, 10 November Kick off: 13:40 GMT

Coverage: Listen to live commentary on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Sounds, follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.

Scarlets wing Blair Murray will make his Wales debut after being named in Warren Gatland's side to face Fiji in Cardiff on Sunday for the opening match of the autumn series.

Murray, 23, was born and brought up in New Zealand but qualifies for Wales through his mother, who is originally from Tonyrefail.

Centre Max Llewellyn will gain his third cap and make his second start, while his Gloucester team-mates Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe return as Wales' half-backs.

Anscombe has been given the fly-half role which allows centre Ben Thomas to partner Llewellyn in the Welsh midfield.

Locks Will Rowlands and Adam Beard return but flanker Jac Morgan is only named on a replacements bench that includes six forwards.

"We have excellent competition in the squad, so it was a tough selection and there were some close calls but I think there’s a really nice balance for Sunday," said Gatland.

"We have some experienced players back alongside some exciting youngsters."

Former international match official, Nigel Owens, whose Test career spanned 17 years and 210 matches in total including 100 as referee, will join the Wales coaching staff on match days for the Autumn Nations Series in an advisory role.

Murray came through the Crusaders academy in New Zealand and played for Canterbury in the domestic competition before arriving in Wales.

He linked up with Scarlets this summer and has played just six games for his new side but impressed Gatland, as he was named as only one of two uncapped players in the 35-man squad alongside Gloucester lock Freddie Thomas.

Murray, who has has been preferred to Rio Dyer and Tom Rogers, lines up in a back three alongside full-back Cameron Winnett and Mason Grady, who switches to the wing from the inside centre role he occupied in the summer.

It is the first time Dyer has not started a Test match since the World Cup quarter-final defeat against Argentina in October 2023.

Anscombe, 33, will play his first Test for more than a year after missing last season because of a groin injury.

Thomas featured at fly-half in the two losing Tests in Australia but switches to his more familiar inside centre role as Wales try out yet another centre combination.

It will be Thomas' first international start in the Wales number 12 jersey.

Bath prop Archie Griffin has been named despite being diagnosed with a minor heart problem called pericarditis.

It causes an issue where the sac around the heart becomes inflamed but it is not a permanent condition.

Griffin, 23, had came on as a replacement in Bath's opening Premiership game against Northampton on 20 September when he felt unwell afterwards.

He was absent for a few weeks but battled back to fitness and was a replacement for Bath in their Premiership Cup victory against Ampthill last weekend.

The return of Rowlands and Beard means Exeter lock Christ Tshiunza drops to the replacements bench, while Dragons number eight Aaron Wainwright has proved his fitness after suffering a hamstring injury against Australia in Sydney in July.

Wainwright will line up in a back row with flankers Taine Plumtree and Tommy Reffell with Morgan named as a replacement.

It is a bench that sees the return of experienced front-row duo Nicky Smith and Ryan Elias among six forwards, with just two backs included in half-backs Ellis Bevan and Sam Costelow.

The return of Williams, Anscombe, Beard, Rowlands and Wainwright provides 234 caps and gives some much-needed experience to the side that played against Australia.

In all, Gatland has made seven personnel changes from the side that lost to the Wallabies in the second Test in Melbourne in July, with three more positional alterations.

Wales have lost their last nine internationals in a run that stretches back 13 months and has seen Gatland's side slip to 11th in the world rankings, one place below Fiji.

Another defeat will equal Wales' record of 10 successive international defeats which stretches back to Steve Hansen's side of 2002 and 2003.

Wales open their autumn campaign against Fiji before facing Australia seven days later and finish with the visit of world champions South Africa on 23 November.

"We know how dangerous Fiji can be, so we’ve got to make sure that we bring physicality and are ruthless on Sunday," said Gatland.

"We need to be switched on for the full 80 minutes."

Winnett; Grady, Llewellyn, B Thomas, Murray; Anscombe, T Williams; G Thomas, Lake (capt), Griffin, Rowlands, Beard, Plumtree, Reffell, Wainwright.

Replacements: Elias, N Smith, Assiratti, Tshiunza, Botham, J Morgan, Bevan, Costelow.