Deiniol Jones earns shock Wales call
Wales have made five changes, one positional, to the starting line-up who defeated Scotland at the Millennium Stadium nine days ago for the RBS 6 Nations visit of France to the Cardiff ground this Friday night (8.00pm).
Blues scrum half Richie Rees replaces his regional rival Gareth Cooper for his first international start in an otherwise unchanged back line and up front hooker Huw Bennett makes it an all-Ospreys front row in replacing the injured Gareth Williams (knee).
It's all change in the second row with Bradley Davies teaming up with his Blues partner Deiniol Jones to replace Ospreys pair Alun Wyn Jones and Jonathan Thomas. Thomas moves to the back row to fill the berth vacated by the suspended Blues flanker Andy Powell, whilst his colleague Jones has been ruled out after surgery on his elbow.
On the bench the Wales coaches have made a late call on the fitness of British & Irish Lions and Ospreys scrum half Mike Phillips, who returned to feature for 40 minutes for his region yesterday (Sunday) after a long lay-off with an ankle problem. He joins the National Centre of Excellence training camp today - meaning Cooper leaves the 34-man squad and returns to Blues duty with the Sale Sharks scrum half Dwayne Peel also welcomed at the Vale Resort HQ today.
Elsewhere on the bench both Scarlets hooker Ken Owens and Saracens prop Rhys Gill would be making their international debuts if called upon and Dragons lock Luke Charteris and Blues flanker Sam Warburton provide the back five cover.
Warren Gatland announces his team to play France
Ospreys centre Andrew Bishop and 65-times capped Blues utility back Tom Shanklin join Phillips to cover the back line.
"Deiniol (Jones) has been in very good form for the Blues and he has the opportunity to partner his regional colleague (Bradley Davies) which should help both players settle in quickly," said Head Coach Warren Gatland.
"Bradley deserves his chance, he has been around this squad since he has been a youngster but he has worked hard and is in great physical shape and has the potential to be a great player. We are developing some strength in depth in the second row and Luke (Charteris) was impressive for the Dragons over the weekend so we will be looking for him to make an impact from the bench if he gets the chance.
"Richie has played himself into the starting line-up and deserves his chance, but once we had decided on his selection we couldn't ignore the opportunity to bring Mike Phillips back into the fold.
"It was great to see Mike get a full half for the Ospreys at the weekend and he is someone who can give us a different option from the bench. He is a world class player and he has been champing at the bit to get back to international rugby. He may not be 100 per cent match fit but he still has probably the best pass in Northern Hemisphere rugby and is a big physical presence so we know he won't let us down."
Wales: Lee Byrne; Leigh Halfpenny, James Hook, Jamie Roberts, Shane Williams; Stephen Jones, Richard Rees; Paul James, Huw Bennett, Adam Jones, Bradley Davies, Deiniol Jones, Jonathan Thomas, Martyn Williams, Ryan Jones (Captain)
Replacements: Ken Owens, Rhys Gill, Luke Charteris, Sam Warburton, Mike Phillips, Andrew Bishop, Tom Shanklin
