WALES BOSS WAYNE PIVAC HAS made two changes to his team ahead of the visit of France to Cardiff on Saturday [KO 4.45pm] in the Six Nations.
Gareth Davies returns to the starting side at scrum-half as Tomos Williams drops to the bench, while there is a change in the back row as Ross Moriarty replaces Aaron Wainwright at blindside flanker.
Wasps lock Will Rowlands is set for his debut off the Wales bench.
Dan Biggar will start at out-half for the Welsh despite suffering his third concussion in five months two weekends ago versus Ireland.
Wales insist that Biggar is fit to face the French.
“Dan has been in full training since last week and has completed all protocols,” reads an official WRU statement.
“All testing has been undertaken with the addition of a globally renowned concussion expert reviewing Dan’s return (which was proactively sought by the WRU medical team).
“All steps taken have been with Dan’s health at the forefront of decision making as player welfare is the number one priority.”
Meanwhile, France have rejigged their backline as Virimi Vakatawa returns from injury at outside centre, with Arthur Vincent moving into 12, and Gaël Fickou shifting to the left wing to replace Vincent Rattez – who was injured against Italy last time out.
Otherwise, head coach Fabien Galthié has opted for an unchanged starting XV as les Bleus look to continue to their winning run. Camille Chat returns from injury as the replacement hooker, while Toulouse’s Thomas Ramos is also back in the mix in the number 23 shirt.
Wales:
15. Leigh Halfpenny
14. George North
13. Nick Tompkins
12. Hadleigh Parkes
11. Josh Adams
10. Dan Biggar
9. Gareth Davies
1. Wyn Jones
2. Ken Owens
3. Dillon Lewis
4. Jake Ball
5. Alun Wyn Jones (captain)
6. Ross Moriarty
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Taulupe Faletau
Replacements:
16. Ryan Elias
17. Rob Evans
18. Leon Brown
19. Will Rowlands
20. Aaron Wainwright
21. Tomos Williams
22. Jarrod Evans
23. Johnny McNicholl
France:
15. Anthony Bouthier
14. Teddy Thomas
13. Vincent Vakatawa
12. Arthur Vincent
11. Gaël Fickou
10. Romain Ntamack
9. Antoine Dupont
1. Cyril Baille
2. Julien Marchand
3. Mohamed Haouas
4. Bernard le Roux
5. Paul Willemse
6. François Cros
7. Charles Ollivon (captain)
8. Grégory Alldritt
Replacements:
16. Camille Chat
17. Jean-Baptiste Gros
18. Demba Bamba
19. Romain Taofifenua
20. Dylan Cretin
21. Baptiste Serin
22. Matthieu Jalibert
23. Thomas Ramos
