Rugby
Reuters 3y

Wales call up Sir Ian Botham's grandson James to Autumn Nations squad

Rugby

Wales coach Wayne Pivac has called up cricket legend Sir Ian Botham's grandson James to his squad for the remainder of the Autumn Nations Cup.

The 22-year-old has previously trained with the squad but is seeking his first cap as Pivac assesses his options in the wake of a six-match losing streak that has put pressure on his position.

New Zealand-born Johnny McNicholl has been called up to the squad. He made his debut in the Six Nations earlier this year and has recovered from an ankle injury that had initially looked set to rule him out of the rest of the international season.

Meanwhile, centre Jonathan Davies will undergo a scan on a knee injury before a decision is made on whether he is able to play against Georgia in Llanelli on Saturday.

"He is in the process of having scans," forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys told a news conference on Tuesday.

"Probably in the next 24 hours we will know how serious that is. But he is up and walking about. He was keen to get games under his belt but hopefully it won't be too serious."

Davies suffered a knee injury in the 32-9 Autumn Nations Cup defeat by Ireland in Dublin last Friday that extended Wales' losing run to six games.

The 32-year-old, who has made 84 appearances with Wales, returned recently after being sidelined for 11 months with a knee injury that required surgery.

Wales are still monitoring loose forwards Ross Moriarty and Josh Navidi, who have also been battling with injury.

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