Wales revert to side that beat Fiji for crucial World Cup clash against Australia
Coach Warren Gatland (60) recalled Wales' key backs Dan Biggar (33), Liam Williams (32), Nick Tompkins (28) and George North (31) after resting them for a laboured 28-8 win over Portugal on September 16th.
Ryan Elias (28) retained the starting spot at hooker from the 32-26 win over Fiji in Bordeaux on September 10th in preference to co-captain Dewi Lake (24), who failed to make the bench with Elliot Dee named as the back-up rake.
Prop Henry Thomas (31) comes onto the bench as cover for tighthead Tomas Francis (31) after recovering from a lower leg injury, and looks set to make his World Cup debut at OL Stadium.
Openside flanker Tommy Reffell (24), who has also been struggling with a lower injury and was a late withdrawal from the Portugal match, is replaced by Taine Basham (23) on the bench for the game against Australia.
"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," Gatland said in a news release.
"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."