Wales vs Portugal LIVE: Rugby World Cup team news and latest updates

Wales XV: 15-Leigh Halfpenny, 14-Louis Rees Zammit, 13-Mason Grady, 12-Johnny William, 11-Rio Dyer, 10-Gareth Anscombe, 9-Tomos Williams, 1-Nicky Smith, 2-Dewi Lake, 3-Dillon Lewis, 4-Christ Tshiunza, 5-Dafydd Jenkins, 6-Dan Lydiate, 7-Tommy Reffell, 8-Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: 16-Ryan Elias, 17-Corey Domachowski, 18-Tomas Francis, 19-Adam Beard, 20-Taine Basham, 21-Gareth Davies, 22-Sam Costelow, 23-Josh Adams.

Portugal XV: 15-Nuno Sousa Guedes, 14-Vincent Pinto, 13-José Lima, 12-Tomás Appleton, 11-Rodrigo Marta, 10-Jerónimo Portela, 9-Samuel Marques, 1-Francisco Fernandes, 2-Mike Tadjer, 3-Anthony Alves, 4-José Madeira, 5-Steevy Cerqueira, 6-João Granate, 7-Nicolas Martins, 8-Rafael Simões.

Replacements: 16-David Costa, 17-Lionel Campergue, 18-Diogo Hasse Ferreira, 19-Martim Belo, 20-David Wallis, 21-Pedro Lucas, 22-Joris Moura, 23-Raffaele Storti.

The Welsh fans are ready to go in Nice. Kick off for this one is a touch under quarter of an hour away now.

Wales vs Portugal is due to kick off at 4.45pm BST on Saturday 16 September at the Stade de Nice.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on ITV1, with coverage on the channel from 4pm BST. Registered users can also stream the action via ITVX.

“Plenty of rain a little bit earlier today in Nice, but the sun is now out and the weather set fair with kick off approaching.

“Wales are working through a few backline moves, Gareth Anscombe pulling the strings and testing out that troublesome thumb that ruled him out of the warm-up games.

“A Wales win feels a certainty, but this a fun Portuguese side – can they give Warren Gatland’s men a bit of a fright?”

England’s Karl Dickson is one of the officials at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The former professional player ended a long top-level career in 2017 having narrowly missed out on international caps.

Younger brother Lee, also a scrum half, appeared 18 times for England between 2012 and 2014.

However, Karl has rapidly risen through the refereeing ranks after starting his officiating journey while still playing for Harlequins.

Samao close out their Pool D clash with Chile in style as they score a try from a line-out and maul. Sama Malolo goes over for his second try of the match before the conversion is kicked over the top.

This is a statement victory from the Pacific Islanders who will believe they can make it out of this pool and reach the knockout rounds.

For Portugal there are 19 survivors in the match-day 23 – who will all be making their Rugby World Cup debuts – from the side which secured their place at RWC 2023 with a 16-16 draw against USA in Dubai last November, with seven players in the starting XV aged 30 or older.

Four players in the squad – Anthony Alvès, Joris Moura, Steevy Cerqueira and Vincent Pinto – represented France at age-grade level (U17s, U18s or U20s), with right-wing Pinto winning the World Rugby U20 Championships in 2019 with France.

“How do Portugal beat Wales?” Patrice Lagisquet repeated the question, considering it deeply, pushing his spectacles further up on to the bridge of his nose. As a player, Lagisquet was known as the “Bayonne Express” on account of his near world-class sprinting speed; here, in the less than salubrious surroundings of a suburban sports hall just outside of Nice, he was taking his time.

Plenty of this current squad’s formative rugby memories come from 2007, when Os Lobos were beaten in every game but proved popular for their spirit and commitment. The group from 16 years ago have been in touch with the current iteration ahead of this tournament, while Luis Pissarra, the vice-captain then, is now one of Lagisquet’s assistants.

Mike Forshaw says Wales will reference Uruguay’s odds-defying display against France when they tackle Rugby World Cup minnows Portugal on Saturday.

Uruguay, despite being ranked 17th in the world, produced an outstanding performance before going down to a 27-12 defeat.

They denied Les Bleus a bonus point and will undoubtedly provide inspiration for fellow World Cup underdogs such as Portugal, Chile and Namibia.

Wales are expected to brush aside Patrice Lagisquet’s team in the countries’ first meeting for 29 years.

The Rugby World Cup is up and running after an action-packed opening weekend.