Sam Warburton
Wales captain Sam Warburton is set to make his 1st appearance of the Rugby World Cup warm-up campaign.
He was named to lead the side in Saturday’s match against Italy at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
The openside flank suffered a shoulder injury in training last month and was rested from Wales’ 16 / 10 win away to Six Nations champions Ireland in Dublin last weekend.
Wales coach Warren Gatland has named a strong side for Wales’ final World Cup tune-up fixture.
Warburton is part of a new look back row – alongside James King at flank 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 1st appearance at the Millennium Stadium.
Jake Ball and Dominic Day are named in the 2nd row.
Halfbacks Rhys Webb and Dan Biggar continue their partnership, whilst there is a new look midfield with Scott Williams lining up alongside Cory Allen.
The back 3 from Dublin also remains unchanged with George North and Alex Cuthbert on the wings and Leigh Halfpenny at fullback.
“With our opening Rugby World Cup fixture just 2 weeks away, this weekend is an important run-out and opportunity for fine tuning,” Gatland said.
“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, Paul James and Aaron Jarvis are named as the front row replacements, with Luke Charteris and Ross Moriarty completing the forward contingent.
Gareth Davies, Rhys Priestland and Matthew Morgan provide cover for the backline.
In addition to the Rugby World Cup 31-man squad, Dacey and Moriarty have remained with the Wales camp and will look to win their 2nd caps this weekend.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Scott Williams, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (Captain), 6 James King, 5 Dominic Day, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Paul James, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Matthew Morgan.
Date: Saturday 5 September
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-Off: 18:00 SA Time (17:00 BST, 18:00 Italy Time, 16:00 GMT)
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees: Greg Garner (England), Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
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