Wales boss Warren Gatland gives injury update on Taulupe Faletau ahead of Six Nations - after he was absent from the team to face France
Wales boss Warren Gatland gives injury update on Taulupe Faletau ahead of Six Nations - after he was absent from the team to face France
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Wales head coach Warren Gatland is hopeful experienced No 8 Taulupe Faletau will be fit for the second round of the Six Nations after he was absent from the team to face France. On the back of a winless 2024 and a run of 12 straight Test defeats, Gatland’s men open up the 2025 Championship against Les Bleus in Paris on Friday night.
![[Warren Gatland is looking to reverse a run of 12 consecutive Test defeats with the Dragons]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/29/17/94648121-0-image-a-2_1738173365738.jpg)
Gatland confirmed the return of Lions backs Liam Williams and Josh Adams to his side on Wednesday, but No 8 Faletau wasn’t named due to a knee injury. ‘He’s just not quite ready,’ Gatland said of the forward, who has been no stranger to fitness issues since the 2023 World Cup and hasn’t played international rugby since that tournament. ‘He made the call on Tuesday to say he’s got to put the team first. He’s not 100 per cent. He’s still part of the squad and he’ll still come with us (to France).
![[He confirmed that Liam Williams and Josh Adams have returned to the side ahead of Friday]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/29/17/94648159-0-image-a-3_1738173441932.jpg)
‘We’re hoping he’ll be right for Italy.’. Taulupe Faletau will hopefully be involved in Wales' second Six Nations game against Italy. Warren Gatland is looking to reverse a run of 12 consecutive Test defeats with the Dragons. With 104 Wales caps to his name, the 34-year-old Faletau is the most experienced member of Gatland’s 35-man squad for the Championship.
![[Wales are 12/1 to go to France and win, given their abysmal run of form, but Gatland hopes to use the 'siege mentality' to their advantage]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/29/17/94648191-0-image-a-4_1738173483046.jpg)
Although it has been nearly 18 months since he last played an international – and his rugby involvement with club side Cardiff in that time has also been minimal – Faletau remains one of the first names on the Wales team sheet if fit. The problem is, he hasn’t been.
Aaron Wainwright was confirmed on Wednesday as the man to again fill in for Faletau against France in an XV which will see first Wales starts for novice hooker Evan Lloyd and the former England prop Henry Thomas. Ben Thomas has been picked in the crucial fly-half position.
