Warren Gatland has named a strong side for Wales’ final warm-up game against Italy this Saturday.
Captain Sam Warburton returns at openside flanker forming a new back row combination with James King at blindside and Taulupe Faletau at No. 8.
Gatland retains the same front row that started in Dublin last week although there are changes in the second row as Jake Ball and Dominic Day come in following an injury to Alun Wyn jones.
In the backs, the only change from the 16-10 victory over Ireland comes in the form of centre Cory Allen who is brought in to his first warm-up following his surprise inclusion in the World Cup squad.
Allen will be partnered in midfield by Scott Williams who returns to his preferred inside centre position.
George North will continue his return from concussion as he starts on the left-wing, while Alex Cuthbert is given another chance on the right following Gatland vow this week to get the Cardiff Blues wide-man back to form.
The bench could be the most telling part of the game for Warren Gatland as a number of squad players will aim to make an impression before their World Cup opener against Uruguay.
One such replacement is Bristol pivot Matthew Morgan who will aim to impress of the bench with his classic style of running rugby and elusive step making him a strong contender to be involved in the Uruguay fixture.
Elsewhere Gareth Davies and Rhys Priestland will hope to put some pressure on starting halfback pairing Rhys Webb and Dan Biggar with the Ospreys duo firmly in commmand of the nine and ten shirts.
Kristian Dacey and Ross Moriarty take their place on the bench despite having been cut from Gatland’s final squad on Monday in an effort to save bodies for the tournament.
Wales coach Warren Gatland told the BBC: “With our opening Rugby World Cup fixture just two weeks away, this weekend is important run-out and opportunity for fine tuning.
“We were happy with the performance away from home in Ireland last weekend, but there are plenty of things we need to work on from that victory so we will be looking to put those in place on Saturday.
“We’ve made a couple of changes to try a few new combinations and ensure players get some more game time under their belts.”
The match kicks off at 5:00pm on Saturday.
Wales team to face Italy
Backs: Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), Cory Allen (Cardiff Blues), Scott Williams (Scarlets), George North (Northampton), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Webb (Ospreys).
Forwards: Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Dominic Day (Bath), James King (Ospreys), Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues, capt).
Replacements: Kristian Dacey (Cardiff Blues), Paul James (Ospreys), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Racing Metro), Ross Moriarty (Gloucester), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Rhys Priestland (Bath), Matthew Morgan (Bristol).
