British and Irish Lions star Taulupe Faletau has handed Wales a welcome boost ahead of Saturday's Six Nations showdown at Twickenham and will start against bitter rivals England.
Bath No. 8 Faletau had been sidelined for seven months before his recent return for the Premiership club, and Saturday's fixture will be his first appearance for Wales since March 2021.
Gloucester 's Louis Rees-Zammit isn't as fortunate and misses out following reports he'd been dropped, meaning Josh Adams takes his place on the wing after recovering from a calf issue.
Alex Cuthbert lines up on the opposite flank and reach a half-century of caps for his country, experience the head coach Wayne Pivac is hoping will pay dividends in dangerous territory.
“We’re very pleased to have the experienced Toby Faletau back," said Pivac after confirming his squad for Saturday's crunch encounter.
"He’s trained well during the week and got 80 minutes under his belt last week. From our point of view he brings a lot of experience so we’re very excited to have Toby back.
“I’m also really pleased for Alex Cuthbert to get 50 Tests for his country. It’s a massive achievement. And it’s also great to have Josh Adams back from injury. They are two good players.
"That means Louis Rees-Zammit is the unfortunate one this week that misses out. But we’ve looked at the opposition we’re playing and niggly injuries that players pick up from time to time and we think that in this particular match, the way the game will go, that Alex and Josh are the right selection.
“Clearly everyone loves playing at home and it’s a first home game of the Guinness Six Nations for England. They will be tough opposition, they always are and both teams are still in this competition so there’s a lot at stake."
Owen Watkin has kept his place at outside centre and will again partner Nick Tompkins in midfield, while Dan Biggar will line up opposite Marcus Smith in an intriguing fly-half duel.
Gareth Anscombe and Kieran Hardy have been named as the replacements in the half-back positions, meanwhile, with Callum Sheedy and Gareth Davies failing to make the cut on this occasion.
Wales haven't won a Six Nations fixture at Twickenham in almost exactly a decade—Saturday's trip falls 10 years and one day after their last, to be exact, having bested their neighbours 19-12 in the 2012 competition.
Thankfully, only seven years have passed since Wales beat their biggest rivals on their own turf to advance beyond the 2015 Rugby World Cup pool stage, though they've lost seven of their 10 meetings since then.
Home advantage has proved crucial in recent encounters between these sides, with the host emerging on top the last six times they've met at their home venues.
England came out as 24-13 victors when they travelled to Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli during 2020's Autumn Nations Cup, but their last three trips to the Principality Stadium have each ended in defeat.
Despite those recent woes in London, however, an injury-hit Wales hope to prove the form guide wrong and keep alive what hopes they still have for a successful Six Nations title defence.
Wales team vs. England
(Backs) Liam Williams, Alex Cuthbert, Owen Watkin, Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams; (Forwards) Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Ross Moriarty, Taine Basham, Taulupe Faletau.
Reps : Dewi Lake, Gareth Thomas, Leon Brown, Seb Davies, Jac Morgan, Kieran Hardy, Gareth Anscombe, Jonathan Davies
