Wales head coach Wayne Pivac has announced his first Six Nations squad for the team’s tournament opener against Italy at the Principality Stadium on Saturday at 14 15.
There is only one uncapped player among the starting line-up with Johnny McNicholl set to make his test debut on the wing.
The only other slight switch in the team is that regular wing George North has moved to the centre as Wales try to cope without Jonathan Davies.
Elsewhere there is experience throughout with Wyn Jones and Dillon Lewis either side of hooker Ken Owens in the front-row, with Jake Ball partnering captain Alun Wyn Jones in the second-row.
Aaron Wainwright takes the blindside-flanker position, with Justin Tipuric at openside and Taulupe Faletau completes the forward pack from No 8.
In the backs Tomos Williams comes in at scrum-half and is joined in the half-backs by Dan Biggar, with Hadleigh Parkes pairing up with North in the midfield.
Josh Adams is on the left-wing, with McNicholl on the right and Leigh Halfpenny finishes off the side from full-back.
There is a mix of players on the bench with the likes of the experienced Rob Evans and Ross Moriarty joining Jarrod Evans and the uncapped Nick Tompkins among the replacements.
Speaking ahead of the game Pivac has admitted he is looking forward to the game and is glad to see his new members in action as well as regular players in new positions.
“I’m really happy with the side and really looking forward to this weekend. It’s great for Johnny McNicholl to get his first cap, I thought he played really well against the Barbarians so it is a great opportunity for him this weekend. George has had a number of games in the midfield for Wales and more recently for the Ospreys and he has been running there in training. We have been impressed with him there and he is excited by the opportunity. Nick (Tompkins) has trained really well and has impressed and we are looking forward to seeing him at some stage during the game,” he said.
Wales will be expected to get their Grand Slam defence off to a perfect start on Saturday and continue Italy’s terrible losing streak in the competition, but it will be interesting to see how they play under Pivac after years under Warren Gatland’s watch.
Check Out the Full 23-Man Squad Below.
Starting XV:
15. Leigh Halfpenny (85 caps)
14. Johnny McNicholl (*uncapped)
13. George North (91 caps)
12. Hadleigh Parkes (25 caps)
11. Josh Adams (21 caps)
10. Dan Biggar (79 caps)
9. Tomos Williams (16 caps)
1. Wyn Jones (22 caps)
2. Ken Owens (73 caps)
3. Dillon Lewis (22 caps)
4. Jake Ball (42 vaps)
5. Alun-Wyn Jones (134 caps, capt)
6. Aaron Wainwright (18 caps)
7. Justin Tipuric (72 caps)
8. Taulupe Faletau (72 caps)
Replacements:
16. Ryan Elias (9 caps)
17. Rob Evans (36 caps)
18. Leon Brown (6 caps)
19. Cory Hill (24 caps)
20. Ross Moriarty (41 caps)
21. Rhys Webb (31 caps)
22. Jarrod Evans (3 caps)
23. Nick Tompkins (*uncapped)
