Sam Warburton returns to the Wales starting line-up to lead his side against Italy in their final World Cup warm-up on Saturday.
Warburton is part of a new look back-row alongside James King at flanker and Taulupe Faletau at No.8.
The same front-row which faced Ireland in Dublin last weekend will start against Italy with the World’s most capped prop Gethin Jenkins packing down with Ken Owens and Tomas Francis, who will make his first appearance at the Millennium Stadium.
Half-backs Rhys Webb and Dan Biggar continue their partnership while there is a new look midfield with Scott Williams lining up alongside Cory Allen.
“With our opening Rugby World Cup fixture just two weeks away, this weekend is important run-out and opportunity for fine tuning,” said Head Coach Warren Gatland.
“We were happy with the performance away from home in Ireland last weekend, but there are plenty of things we need to work on from that victory so we will be looking to put those in place on Saturday.
“We’ve made a couple of changes to try a few new combinations and ensure players get some more game time under their belts.”
Kristian Dacey and Ross Moriarty, who have not been named in the 31-man World Cup squad, have remained with the Wales camp and will look to win their second caps this weekend from the bench.
Wales: Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon); Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), Cory Allen (Cardiff Blues), Scott Williams (Scarlets), George North (Northampton); Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Webb (Ospreys); Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Tomas Francis (Exeter); Jake Ball (Scarlets), Dominic Day (Bath); James King (Ospreys), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues, Capt.), Taulupe Faletau (NG Dragons).
Replacements: Kristian Dacey (Cardiff Blues), Paul James (Ospreys), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Racing Metro), Ross Moriarty (Gloucester), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Rhys Priestland (Bath), Matthew Morgan (Bristol).
You must be logged in to post a comment Login