Dan Lydiate, Tomas Francis named in Wales team to face England

Wales coach Warren Gatland has made a number of changes to his side for Saturday's Pool A showdown with England.

Dan Lydiate starts at flanker, with Justin Tipuric on the bench, while Samson Lee is also a replacement as Tomas Francis comes in at tighthead.

Gareth Davies will start at scrum-half, Alun Wyn Jones and Bradley Davies are the lock pairing, while Jamie Roberts and Scott Williams line up in the centre.

Luke Charteris played in the victory over Uruguay last time out, but he drops to the bench, with Bradley Davies replacing him at lock.

Hallam Amos comes in on the wing at the expense of Alex Cuthbert, who is also named among the replacements, with George North starting on the opposite side.

Veteran scrum-half Mike Phillips has not been selected in the match XXIII, while Lloyd Williams is on the bench.

Wales: L Williams; North, S Williams, Roberts, Amos; Biggar, G Davies; Jenkins, Baldwin, Francis, B Davies, Jones; Lydiate, Warburton, Faletau
Replacements: Owens, Jarvis, Lee, Charteris, Tipuric, L Williams, Priestland, Cuthbert

Written by
Steven Toplis