Wales show their hand to face England in Cardiff

Captain Alun Wyn Jones returns to lead Wales against England in Cardiff on Saturday. Jones will make his 122nd Welsh appearance, his 21st as captain, at Principality Stadium as the two remaining unbeaten teams in the 2019 Six Nations go head-to-head.

Jones will pack down with Cory Hill in the second row with Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric and Ross Moriarty forming the back row. A front row of Rob Evans, Ken Owens and Tomas Francis complete the forwards.

Gareth Davies and Gareth Anscombe are named at half-back with Hadleigh Parkes and Jonathan Davies partnering again in the midfield. Josh Adams, George North and Liam Williams make up the back-three. “We are really happy with the experience we have got in the side,” said Wales head coach Warren Gatland.

“We have been on the road for the first two weeks. We are looking forward to being back at home and to build on those first two wins and to build on our performance. We’ve had a great two-week lead-up to this game. We’ve looked really sharp and the squad are incredibly motivated to kick on.

“We know how important this game is for the rest of the championship. It’s a massive challenge playing against an England team that is playing really well and with a lot of confidence and we’ve got to make it difficult for them on Saturday.

(Continue reading below…)

“We are looking forward to it and we know the Welsh fans are too. It’s going to be a huge weekend in the Six Nations.”

Elliot Dee, Nicky Smith and Dillon Lewis provide Wales’ front row replacements with Adam Beard and Aaron Wainwright completing the forward contingent. Aled Davies, Dan Biggar and Owen Watkin provide the backline cover. Samson Lee, Leon Brown and Tomos Williams were not considered due to injury.

#GuinnessSixNations Team News 🏉

Your Wales team to face @EnglandRugby on Saturday 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 #WALvENG 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Dyma'r dreigiau fydd yn cystadlu yn erbyn y rhosyn coch penwythnos yma. #HWFN #ForTheJersey pic.twitter.com/jju4zP8dzM

— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@WelshRugbyUnion) February 21, 2019

WALES TEAM TO PLAY ENGLAND
(Saturday, February 23 KO 16:45)

15. Liam Williams (53 Caps)
14. George North (80 Caps)
13. Jonathan Davies (70 Caps)
12. Hadleigh Parkes (12 Caps)
11. Josh Adams (8 Caps)
10. Gareth Anscombe (23 Caps)
9. Gareth Davies (38 Caps)
1. Rob Evans (32 Caps)
2. Ken Owens (61 Caps)
3. Tomas Francis (37 Caps)
4. Cory Hill (23 Caps)
5. Alun Wyn Jones (122 Caps) (CAPT)
6. Josh Navidi (13 Caps)
7. Justin Tipuric (61 Caps)
8. Ross Moriarty (28 Caps)

REPLACEMENTS:
16. Elliot Dee (15 Caps)
17. Nicky Smith (25 Caps)
18. Dillon Lewis (9 Caps)
19. Adam Beard (10 Caps)
20. Aaron Wainwright (5 Caps)
21. Aled Davies (13 Caps)
22. Dan Biggar (67 Caps)
23. Owen Watkin (10 Caps)