Wales have made five changes to their starting XV for Saturday's Test with New Zealand with Sam Warburton returning as captain.
Warburton's return comes at the expense of Justin Tipuric at openside flank. In other changes in the pack, Matthew Rees returnes at hooker for Richard Hibbard and Luke Charteris comes into the second row in place of Ian Evans, who is battling to overcome a knee injury. Aaron Shingler is named on the bench.
Amongst the backs, Jonathan Davies replaces Ashley Beck at outside centre, Rhys Priestland starts at fly-half instead of James Hook, with Dan Biggar sidelined due to injury.
Warren Gatland has returned to the coaching set-up after missing Wales' consecutive Test defeats to Argentina and Samoa this month and will lead the side on Saturday against his native New Zealand.
It's an honour to be playing the World Champions at the Millennium Stadium this weekend," he said.
"Memories of the Rugby World Cup and touring New Zealand the previous summer are still fresh in the mind of many of the players and staff.
"The hospitality shown and the way we were looked after made the experience especially memorable and that makes it all the more special that we have the opportunity to face the best side in the world at the moment in Cardiff."
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Ryan Jones (capt), 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Aaron Shingler, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 James Hook, 23 Scott Williams.
Date: Saturday, November 24
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Venue: Millennium Stadium
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Jérôme Garces, Greg Garner (England)
Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)
Comments
paulynz says...
Every team get up against the All Blacks. That's a given. Wales will be no different. This will be their game of the season.
Posted 18:18 20th November 2012
jmanngod says...
I can't imagine that Wales could do anything to win this game frankly. But, the ABs may have a mini collapse (like in Brisbane) or the ref might contribute (see: endless references)... but, no. I can't see it. There isn't a single position where Wales have a better player.... at 6 maybe.
Posted 18:04 20th November 2012
davodiablo says...
@ Armchair General ...In NZ we're used to 1 summer every year , in UK its every 2 on average . I think that explains the quote :-)
Posted 17:55 20th November 2012
sheepversuslynx says...
I had a sneaking suspicion that Jon Davies would return to the fold just in time for this game. His defense in midfield and ability to create something out of nothing is so important to this Welsh side. Looks to be a little too late though as they have already slipped on the banana skins that were Argentina and Samoa.
Posted 16:45 20th November 2012
jontheref says...
Agree, what does James Hook have to do to get a tenth of the chances Priestland has had?
Priestland came on last week, and blew one of the best chances we had.
Saw Adam Jones at the gym yesterday, just doing light upper body stuff, but physically looking solid.
Come back soon, we need you!
Posted 16:39 20th November 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
HOLD ONTO THE BALL.
You can't play rugby without it, make them give away penalites and yellow cards as they try to get the ball off you.
Keep possession, play with patience and intelligence, stay on your feet at ruck time and put them under pressure. Good technique and a high workrate. But keep it simple. Don't try to out NZ the All Blacks becasue they are better at their bread and butter than you are. You've gotta to pick a Welsh strength and make sure the game is played in that area. Blitz like a you-know-what, play hard at the ruck. recycle. don't force anything or you'll be 7 points worse off faster than you can say Isreal Dagg.
Posted 15:30 20th November 2012
Taffster says...
Sorry I c*cked up. Wales toured NZ in 2010. Not sure what I'm talking about.
Posted 14:49 20th November 2012
heathy says...
This looks a better line up for Wales and reading the article you can't help but feel that Gatland's presence has really been missed. Sorry Howley, you were a great player but you just don't have the presence or the assurance as a coach. Jonathan Davies has been missed in the backline more than Jamie Roberts would have been ATM. He's a very good player. Mike Phillips (although hasn't been playing good rugby and is an a*se of a guy) will keep the NZ back row honest. My main concern is the front row. Oh, how Wales miss Adam Jones. He's probably the, if not one of, the world¿s best props and he is irreplaceable for Wales. Scrum time could be bad news for Wales but luckily, the scrum isn¿t New Zealand¿s most effective weapon. Wales will play much better though and will also raise their game. They will be beaten and probably by 20 points but they really do need to step it up. Top 4 spot has gone to dust so they need to, at least, keep in the top 8. This at the moment is not looking good but a good performance will help.
Posted 14:36 20th November 2012
dodgyrog says...
its a good backline if they see any ball, expect a very open game with NZ winning, both teams hopefully scoring plenty of tries?
Posted 14:30 20th November 2012
passtheball says...
Do you think Warren harbours thoughts of coaching the ABs in the future? That team will perform better than they did against Samoa. At least the tackling will be different this time.
Posted 14:16 20th November 2012
Taffster says...
Probably as strong as we're going to get. Priestland must repay the faith shown in him by the coaches. As will some of the others in the team list. Hook must be wondering what he's done so wrong. I hope Halfpenny doesn't cop an injury as he seems to be the only back finding areas of space and getting some go forward.
@ArmchairGeneral - I think Gats is referring to the tour to NZ prior to RWC, previous Summer to the one this year.
Posted 14:15 20th November 2012
sanka69 says...
Yes but he was referring to the World Cup which I am pretty sure was held in NZ not Oz! (re)ad the quote more like!
Posted 13:58 20th November 2012
black47 says...
Gatty all sweetness and light. Wait unitl later in the week when he throws in a psycological hand grenade to liven things up. Great to have him back
Posted 13:47 20th November 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
Would think Gatland knew the difference between touring New Zealand and touring Oz. re the quote. Make or break for Priestland.
Posted 13:32 20th November 2012