Wales coach Warren Gatland has brought back the big guns rested for the final pool game against Fiji for the quarter-final meeting with Ireland this weekend.
Unlike Declan Kidney, Gatland had the luxury of being able to give some of his front-liners the day off last Sunday, but makes four changes in total for the much-anticipated quarter final between the Celtic nations.
In the backs, Shane Williams and Jonathan Davies come into the side instead of Lee Byrne and Scott Williams, with man of the moment George North and Leigh Halfpenny switching positions in the subsequent reshuffle.
In the pack, Alun Wyn-Jones replaces Bradley Davies in the second row, with Dan Lydiate coming into the second row instead of Ryan Jones. With the likes of Jones, Bradley Davies and James Hook amongst the replacements, the Wales bench has a formidable look about it, while Stephen Jones and Lee Byrne miss out on the matchday 22 altogether.
Commenting on the selection, Gatland said: “This was a tough selection for us, probably one of the longest selection meetings we have ever had, where we went through every possible permutation available to us.
“It’s a great position to be in when you are struggling to find a place for players in the squad and the starting line-up, instead of having to think who can make up the numbers, which has sometimes been the case.
“This is Rugby World Cup quarter-final time and we had some tough decisions to make with the likes of Dan, Shane and James returning from injury and the side having done so well in their recent absence.
“But this is the side we have gone with and, as a 22, we believe it is the side which gives us the best chance of winning this game against an Ireland team which not only topped their group but beat the Wallabies on the way.”
Ireland take on Wales in Wellington on Saturday at 6am Irish time. We’ll be following all the action live from 5.30am Saturday morning, so be sure to keep tabs on our homepage.
Wales: Leigh Halfpenny; George North, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Shane Williams, Rhys Priestland, Mike Phillips; Gethin Jenkins, Huw Bennett, Adam Jones, Luke Charteris, Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate Sam Warburton (captain), Toby Faletau
Replacements: Lloyd Burns, Paul James, Bradley Davies, Ryan Jones, Lloyd Williams, James Hook, Scott Williams
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