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Wales head coach Warren Gatland has made seven changes for this weekend’s Six Nations clash against England, including a starting spot for Elliot Dee, who hails from Newbridge.
Gatland’s men put in a spirited performance last week at home to Scotland, after finding themselves 20-0 behind at the half, they ended-up narrowly losing 27-26.
George North returns to the starting XV, in what will be his 50th Six Nations appearance when they travel to Twickenham on Saturday February 10.
The side to face England:
15 Cameron Winnett (Cardiff Rugby)
14 Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby)
13 George North (Ospreys)
12 Nick Tompkins (Saracens)
11 Rio Dyer (Dragons)
10 Ioan Lloyd (Scarlets)
9 Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby)
1 Gareth Thomas (Ospreys)
2 Elliot Dee (Dragons)
3 Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff Rugby)
4 Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs) *Captain
5 Adam Beard (Ospreys)
6 Alex Mann (Cardiff Rugby)
7 Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers)
8 Aaron Wainwright (Dragons)
Replacements:
16 Ryan Elias (Scarlets)
17 Corey Domachowski (Cardiff Rugby)
18 Archie Griffin (Bath Rugby)
19 Will Rowlands (Racing 92)
20 Taine Basham (Dragons)
21 Kieran Hardy (Scarlets)
22 Cai Evans (Dragons)
23 Mason Grady (Cardiff Rugby)
Speaking ahead of the game, Gatland said: “We’ve been critical and tough on ourselves this week. That first-half was nowhere near the standards we expect. We simply cannot start the same way this Saturday.
“We showed in the second half against Scotland what we are capable of. Now it’s about building on that performance and playing with some tempo from the off.
“This is a massive game, not only because of the history and what it means to everyone in Wales. But it’s an opportunity to get things on track a bit more. England are in a rebuilding phase. We’ll go there with a lot of confidence we can build on that second-half and belief.”
The game is due to kick-off on Saturday February 10 at 4.45pm.
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