CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — Wales will debut New Zealand-born winger Blair Murray against a Fiji restocked with its European backline stars for their autumn rugby test on Sunday.
Murray qualified through his mother. He's played six times for Scarlets and scored tries in their last two matches.
“He came through the New Zealand pathway,” coach Warren Gatland said on Friday. “We were pretty excited when he committed to us. He gives us a left-footed option which we haven't had in a while. He gets touches and defends well.”
Murray was in a backline refurbished after the 2-0 series loss to the Wallabies in Australia in July.
Experienced halves Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe return. Anscombe last appeared at the Rugby World Cup more than a year ago. Ben Thomas, the flyhalf in July, moves out one spot.
Gloucester center Max Llewellyn will play his third test after debuting in the World Cup warmups. Mason Grady, the inside center in July, is out on the wing.
Locks Adam Beard and Will Rowlands return after missing the summer tour.
Tighthead prop Archie Griffin, who debuted in the Six Nations, also starts. He suffered from a previously unknown heart condition in September while in action for his Bath club. When he was finally cleared, he came off the bench last weekend to prove his fitness.
Gatland went for a 6-2 split on the bench to ease the load on the forwards because both props, Griffin and Gareth Thomas, Beard, and backup flanker Jac Morgan haven't played a lot lately.
Meanwhile, Fiji welcomed back its European-based players on Friday after they were unavailable to play Scotland last weekend because that match was outside the international window. Fiji lost 57-17 at Murrayfield.
Co-captain Waisea Nayacalevu and Josua Tuisova fill the midfield, and Semi Radradra and Jiuta Wainiqolo are on the wings.
Sireli Maqala, the Bayonne center who made the French Top 14 team of the month in September and October, could make only the reserves.
The forwards have been bolstered by Saracens loosehead Eroni Mawi and Northampton lock Temo Mayanavanua.
Wales, yet to win this year, is hoping to avoid a 10th straight defeat which would match its record from 2002-03. Wales has won its last six matches against Fiji, including a thriller at the World Cup last year, and never lost at home to the Fijians.
Lineups:
Wales: Cameron Winnett, Mason Grady, Max Llewellyn, Ben Thomas, Blair Murray, Gareth Anscombe, Tomos Williams; Aaron Wainwright, Tommy Reffell, Taine Plumtree, Adam Beard, Will Rowlands, Archie Griffin, Dewi Lake (captain), Gareth Thomas. Reserves: Ryan Elias, Nicky Smith, Keiron Assiratti, Christ Tshiunza, James Botham, Jac Morgan, Ellis Bevan, Sam Costelow.
Fiji: Vuate Karawalevu, Jiuta Wainiqolo, Waisea Nayacalevu (co-captain), Josua Tuisova, Semi Radradra, Caleb Muntz, Frank Lomani; Elia Canakaivata, Kitione Salawa, Ratu Meli Derenalagi, Temo Mayanavanua, Isoa Nasilasila, Samuela Tawake, Tevita Ikanivere (co-captain), Eroni Mawi. Reserves: Sam Matavesi, Haereiti Hetet, Jone Koroiduadua, Mesake Vocevoce, Albert Tuisue, Simi Kuruvoli, Isaiah Ravula, Sireli Maqala.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
FILE - Wales' Gareth Anscombe kicks a penalty during the Rugby World Cup Pool C match between Wales and Australia at the OL Stadium in Lyon, France, Sept. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
CETINJE, Montenegro (AP) — Shock and dismay prevailed in Montenegro on Thursday after a gunman fatally shot 12 people, including two children, in a western town before killing himself.
At least four others were wounded in the shooting rampage in Cetinje on Wednesday that followed a bar brawl, officials said. This was the second such incident in the town in the past three years.
Hundreds gathered on Thursday evening at the main square in Cetinje for a candlelight vigil in the memory of the victims.
Police Commissioner Lazar Šćepanović described Wednesday’s shooting as “one of the biggest tragedies in the history of Montenegro.”
He said at a news conference that the victims included seven men, three women and two children, born in 2011 and 2016.
“Most of the victims were people he knew, his closest friends and relatives,” including the shooter’s sister, Šćepanović said. “This criminal act wasn’t planned or organized. It was unpredictable.”
The shooter, identified as 45-year-old Aco Martinović, killed the owner of the bar, the bar owner's children and his own family members, officials have said.
The attacker, who first fled after the rampage, was later located and surrounded by police. He died after shooting himself in the head, police said.
Residents of Cetinje, a town of some 17,000 people, were stunned and grief-stricken.
"I knew all of these people personally, also the attacker. I think when he did that, he was out of his mind," said Vesko Milošević, a retiree from Cetnje. "What do I know, he went from place to place and killed people. Its a catastrophe.”
Vanja Popović, whose relatives are among the victims, said that “we are all in shock.”
“How can I feel after this?" Popović said. "No one expected it. You can’t even ask anyone anything.”
Police had dispatched a special unit to search for the attacker in the town, which is located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of Podgorica, the country's capital. All roads in and out of Cetinje were blocked for hours as police swarmed the streets.
Police said that the shooter had died while being taken to a hospital in the capital and succumbed from the “severity of his injuries.”
Officials have said that the attacker was at the bar throughout the day with other guests when the brawl erupted. He then went home, brought back a weapon and opened fire at around 5:30 p.m.
Prosecutor Andrijana Nastić said Thursday that the attacker went to six locations during the shooting rampage, including the last one, where he shot himself.
Four men were killed at the bar, she said. The shooter then moved on to another location where he killed four more people, and then two children at a third site. He then went on to kill two more people at two other locations before eventually shooting himself, Nastić said.
“Further investigation will determine the exact circumstances of the events,” she added.
The government has declared three days of national mourning starting on Thursday, and all planned New Year's festivities have been canceled throughout the country.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said that the government may try to impose a total ban on weapons “because we must ask ourselves after this who should be allowed to have guns in Montenegro.”
The small Adriatic Sea nation, which has a population of around 620,000 people, is known for its gun culture and many people traditionally have weapons.
In August 2022 in Cetinje, which is Montenegro’s historic capital, an attacker killed 10 people, including two children, before he was shot and killed by a passerby.
Police have said that the suspect in Wednesday's shooting received a suspended sentence in 2005 for violent behavior and had appealed his latest conviction for illegal weapons possession. Montenegrin media have reported that he was known for erratic and violent behavior.
“Instead of holiday joy ... we have been gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” Montenegro's President Jakov Milatović said in a post on X.
Associated Press writers Jovana Gec and Dušan Stojanović contributed to this report from Belgrade, Serbia.
A view of blood by the door of a bar after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
A police car outside a house after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
A view of a bar after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
A view of a police vehicle at the home of a gunman after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
A view of a police vehicle at the home of a gunman after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
Police officers stand guard at the home of a gunman after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
Police officers stand guard at the home of a gunman after a shooting incident, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
A police officer stands guard at the scene after a shooting incident at a bar, in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
Rescue workers work at the site of a shooting in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Wednesday, Jan 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
Police investigators work at the site of a shooting in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Wednesday, Jan 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
Police investigators work at the site of a shooting in Cetinje, 36 kilometers (22 miles) west of Podogrica, Montenegro, Wednesday, Jan 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Risto Bozovic)
