Gabriel Hamer-Webb urged to grab Wales chance against All Blacks

Nation.Cymru staff/agencies

Steve Tandy has backed Gabriel Hamer-Webb to make the most of his chance against the All Blacks on Saturday after praising the wing’s form for Leicester.

The Wales head coach said Hamer-Webb had already come close to getting the nod on the wing against Japan last weekend.

Josh Adams got the start and scored twice in the 28–21 win, but Tandy said the Nations Championship match against New Zealand offered a chance to rest Adams after his recent return from injury.

“It’ll be good for Josh to get a bit of a break this weekend and just train,” Tandy said.

Hamer-Webb won his only previous Wales cap in the Six Nations defeat by Scotland earlier this year. Tandy said the wing had done well to break into a Leicester side in which Adam Radwan and Ollie Hassell-Collins had been in good form.

The head coach also pointed to the competition for places, highlighting Ellis Mee’s performances for Wales and his strong start to the season with Scarlets. Tandy said he had planned to rotate during the autumn, giving players such as Hamer-Webb a chance to show what they could do.

“It’s a great opportunity for Gabe this weekend,” he said.

New Zealand arrive at the Principality Stadium having won their last 34 meetings with Wales. The three-time world champions beat Scotland 43–21 last weekend and have won every match in their Nations Championship campaign so far.

Tandy said Wales had been in contention for about an hour when the sides met last year and had been able to attack the way they wanted to. He believes the All Blacks have “gone up a level” under Dave Rennie since then, but saw signs of progress against Japan, particularly in Wales’ defence in the middle third of the pitch.

‘Aura’

“You look at World Cups and everything, the former players they’ve had, there’s always that aura around the All Blacks,” Tandy said.

“But I think for our boys, it’s been trying to look in the mirror more at what we can do.”

Hamer-Webb is one of four changes to the side that beat Japan. Taine Basham replaces Aaron Wainwright, who has a minor calf injury, at number eight. It will be Basham’s first Wales appearance since the 2024 Six Nations. James Botham starts at blindside flanker and Adam Beard comes into the second row.