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Wales make three changes to team to face England

Adam Beard (middle) (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Wales have made three changes to their side to face England in Cardiff on Saturday with Jake Ball, James Davies and Dan Biggar coming into the starting XV.

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Ball comes into the second row alongside captain Alun Wyn Jones, with Davies coming into the back row alongside Aaron Wainwright and Ross Moriarty.

James Davies will also line-up alongside elder brother Jonathan Davies for the first time in a Wales jersey (the last pair of brothers to play alongside each other for Wales was Jamie and Nicky Robinson in 2006).

Biggar comes into the starting line-up and will partner Gareth Davies at half-back. The rest of the backline remains unchanged with Hadleigh Parkes partnering Davies in midfield and Josh Adams, George North and Liam Williams comprising the back-three.

Wales have also named an unchanged front row with Nicky Smith, Ken Owens and Tomas Francis all starting. “This weekend is another opportunity for us to take the field, test ourselves and continue our preparation for Japan,” said Wales head coach Warren Gatland.

“It is a little over five weeks until we kick off our campaign in Toyota against Georgia and it is important we are fully prepared and rugby-ready by then.

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“We were disappointed to get the loss last weekend so it is important we step it up on Saturday and put in a big display in front of a packed Principality Stadium.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Lhl9SoCih/

“The squad are looking forward to getting back out there, taking another step towards the RWC and putting in a big performance.”

Elliot Dee, Wyn Jones and Dillon Lewis provide the front-row cover with Aaron Shingler and Josh Navidi completing the forward contingent. Aled Davies, Jarrod Evans and Owen Watkin are named as the backline cover.

WALES TEAM TO FACE ENGLAND
15. Liam Williams (Saracens) (56 Caps)
14. George North (Ospreys) (84 Caps)
13. Jonathan Davies (Scarlets) (74 Caps)
12. Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets) (16 Caps)
11. Josh Adams (Cardiff Blues) (11 Caps)
10. Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints) (71 Caps)
9. Gareth Davies (Scarlets) (42 Caps)
1. Nicky Smith (Ospreys) (29 Caps)
2. Ken Owens (Scarlets) (65 Caps)
3. Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs) (41 Caps)
4. Jake Ball (Scarlets) (33 Caps)
5. Alun Wyn Jones (C) (Ospreys) (126 Caps)
6. Aaron Wainwright (Dragons) (9 Caps)
7. James Davies (Scarlets) (3 Caps)
8. Ross Moriarty (Dragons) (32 Caps)

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Replacements:
16. Elliot Dee (Dragons) (19 Caps)
17. Wyn Jones (Scarlets) (13 Caps)
18. Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues) (13 Caps)
19. Aaron Shingler (Scarlets) (18 Caps)
20. Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues) (16 Caps)
21. Aled Davies (Ospreys) (17 Caps)
22. Jarrod Evans (Cardiff Blues) (1 Cap)
23. Owen Watkin (Ospreys) (14 Caps)

WATCH: Warren Gatland’s media conference after last Sunday’s defeat to England in London

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R
RedWarriors 3 hours ago
Antoine Dupont undergoes surgery on injured knee ahead of long absence

Rugby incident, happens scores of times in a game. Dupont wasn’t even hit with much force, Beirne just clears him and force is added from behind from Furlong.

We can’t have special treatment for France just because their star is the one who gets unlucky.

There is already a lack of clarity around actual Written decisions and how they differ from bans.

For example, Mauvaka the official written decision states Mauvaka to have made a ‘reckless’, ‘deliberate’, shot ‘to the head’ of a ‘player in a vulnerable position’ on the ground. That’s a high level entry ban of 10 weeks. However, the press release did not show ‘reckless’ or ‘vulnerable player’ ticked alloweing Mauvaka to enter at the 6 match mid range.

Similarly Ntamack’s written report showed that it was a ‘reckless’, ‘head shot’ with ‘injury’. The injury was a fully displaced nose bone and Ntamack apologizes for the injury in the written report. This should give Ntamack an entry level of 6 weeks but in the Press Release ‘Injured’ is unticked meaning Ntamack gets away with a 4 week entry ban. This is not counting the fact that the world knows he deliberately injured Thomas.

No. France have been abusing the system for years, recently spreading disinformation about the Ringrose ban in order to undermine confidence in the process.

Giving France even more special treatment is not the answer.

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