100 up for Wales great George North

Colin Newboult

Wales' George North during the Guinness Six Nations match at Twickenham Stadium, London. PA Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 7, 2020. See PA story RUGBYU England. Photo credit should read: Adam Davy/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only, No commercial use without prior permission

George North will become the youngest player in the world to reach the 100-cap milestone for his country on Saturday when Wales take on England at Principality Stadium.

North, 28, made his international bow in November 2010 and has amassed 42 tries in his 99 appearances.

He will line up in the centre alongside Jonathan Davies this weekend, outside a half-back pairing of Kieran Hardy and Dan Biggar. Josh Adams, Louis Rees-Zammit and Liam Williams comprise the back three.

Wales name an unchanged front five with Wyn Jones, Ken Owens and Tomas Francis packing down in the front-row and Adam Beard partnering captain Alun Wyn Jones in the second-row.

Josh Navidi returns to the back-row

Josh Navidi returns to the side to line up alongside Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau.

“We’ve had a great two weeks leading into this game and we are looking forward to Saturday,” said Wales head coach Wayne Pivac.

“We continue to build and we know there is plenty left in us in terms of improvements from the opening two rounds. We are 2/2 but we want to continue to improve performance wise.

“Saturday is a great milestone for George, it is a huge achievement at his age and we are looking forward to seeing him in action.”

Elliot Dee, Rhodri Jones and Leon Brown provide the front-row cover for Wales with Cory Hill and James Botham completing the forward contingent. Gareth Davies, Callum Sheedy and Uilisi Halaholo provide the backline cover.

Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Josh Navidi, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Cory Hill, 20 James Botham, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Uilisi Halaholo

Date: Saturday, February 27
Venue: Principality Stadium
Kick-off: 16:45 GMT
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Frank Murphy (Ireland)
TMO: Alex Ruiz (France)