Wales change three for England

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has made three alterations to his starting XV to face England in their Rugby World Cup warm-up match in Cardiff on Saturday. 

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

James 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).

Dan Biggar comes into the starting line-up at fly-half and will partner Gareth Davies at half-back. The rest of the backline remains unchanged with Hadleigh Parkes partnering Jonathan 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 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.

“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.

“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: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Jake Ball, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Aaron Shingler, 20 Josh Navidi, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Owen Watkin

Date: Saturday, August 17
Venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 14:15 BST (13:15 GMT)
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (France), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)