Jac Morgan captains Wales with Dewi Lake missing out on Australia Test
Wales captain Jac Morgan speaks to the referee.
Back-row star Jac Morgan will captain Wales again after being named to start against Australia in an enthralling Pool C clash in Lyon on Sunday.
With the group wide open a win is vital and joining the skipper in the back-row is experienced number eight Taulupe Faletau with Aaron Wainwright on the blindside flank.
The tireless Will Rowlands starts in the second-row alongside Adam Beard, who wins his 50th cap, whilst hooker Ryan Elias is joined by props Tomas Francis and Gareth Thomas at the coalface.
Strong backline
In the backline scrum-half Gareth Davies starts alongside veteran Dan Biggar in the half-backs with centre Nick Tompkins and George North linking up in the midfield.
Liam Williams has been named at full-back with speedsters Louis Rees-Zammit and Josh Adams completing the starting XV.
On the bench for this one is hooker Elliot Dee who is named alongside props Cory Domachowski and Henry Thomas as front-row substitutions. Meanwhile, Taine Basham and Dafydd Jenkins are the other forward options.
Scrum-half Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe and Rio Dyer round out the matchday 23.
Battle loading
Head coach Warren Gatland is expecting a blockbuster clash against the Wallabies especially with such high stakes.
“We’re happy with our position going into this game. We have two wins and ten points. There’s a confidence among this group and we’ve had a good edge to training this week,” he said.
“Everyone wants to be involved and there were some disappointed players this week, which is exactly what we want with competition strong across the squad.
“Every game in the World Cup is tough, the stakes are high, and this will be no different. Australia have talented players and we know they will want to come out and put in a performance this weekend.
“Our accuracy was good against Fiji, but it was not at the level we would like against Portugal. We are looking to get better every week. Against Australia we know we have to take our chances and put them under as much pressure as possible.”
The team
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Jac Morgan (c), 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Dafydd Jenkins, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Rio Dyer
Date: September 24
Venue: Parc OL, Lyon
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Kick-off: 21:00 local (20:00 BST, 19:00 GMT)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (RFU), Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Tom Foley (RFU)
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