WALES HEAD COACH Wayne Pivac has unveiled his team for Sunday’s Six Nations opener against Ireland at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium [KO 3pm, Virgin Media One].
It includes another outing at centre for George North, who will wear the number 13 short in the absence of the injured Jonathan Davies.
Dan Lydiate will make his first Wales start since November 2018 when he joins Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau in the back row.
“We are looking forward to kicking off our campaign this weekend and putting into action two really good training weeks,” said Pivac. “We made strides forward through the autumn and we are looking to take that into Sunday and into this tournament.
“The Six Nations is a fantastic tournament and is important for us rugby-wise but it is important for so much more this year.
“It is important for communities across the country and we want to play our part and give everyone something to look forward to and to get excited about on the weekend.”
Wales:
15. Leigh Halfpenny
14. Louis Rees-Zammit
13. George North
12. Johnny Williams
11. Hallam Amos
10. Dan Biggar
9. Tomos Williams
1. Wyn Jones
2. Ken Owens
3. Tomas Francis
4. Adam Beard
5. Alun Wyn Jones (captain)
6. Dan Lydiate
7. Justin Tipuric
8. Taulupe Faletau
Replacements:
16. Elliot Dee
17. Rhodri Jones
18. Leon Brown
19. Will Rowlands
20. Josh Navidi
21. Gareth Davies
22. Callum Sheedy
23. Nick Tompkins
