Leigh Halfpenny makes his first start for Wales in 19 months when he takes to the field in the 15 shirt against Ireland this Saturday.
The 97 times capped Welsh international last began a test match against Canada back in the Summer of 2021. He starts alongside Josh Adams and Rio Dyer in the back three.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland, back at the helm for the second time in his career, has selected six Ospreys forwards, plus centre Joe Hawkins, with Saracens’ Nick Tompkins missing out.
READ MORE: Wales team v Ireland LIVE updates as Warren Gatland names side for Six Nations opener in Cardiff
George North starts at outside centre, while Dan Biggar and Tomos Williams form the half-back pairing.
Hooker Ken Owens captains the side on his 87th cap, while the second row has the familiar figure of Alun Wyn Jones who continues to defy age at 37-years old.
Jac Morgan, Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau complete the forward line.
Ireland will arrive in Cardiff as the world-ranked number-one team following a memorable year when they beat New Zealand twice, South Africa and Australia.
But they have lost their last four Six Nations games in the Welsh capital since defeating Wales 10 years ago.
The Principality Stadium encounter kicks off Gatland’s second stint as Wales boss, with his previous reign between 2008 and 2019 yielding four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams and two World Cup semi-finals.
Gatland said the following of his selection: “We’ve picked Joe (Hawkins) at 12. He is a lovely footballer with some great skills. I thought for his first cap (against Australia in November) he was outstanding, so we have given him another opportunity.
“There is some real competition in the midfield at the moment, so I am really excited about that. There is a mixture in the team of some experience and some younger players. We were conscious as well picking the bench. We think we’ve got a bench that can come on and have an impact.
“Ireland are the number-one team in the world, so they’re going to be coming here with a lot of confidence.
“You don’t become the number-one team in the world without having some pretty consistent performances.
“We know how good they are and we are expecting a really tough contest. It’s important for us that we start well, but we need to be in the game at the last 20 minutes.
“We’ve only had a couple of weeks together, but I am confident that the guys will go out and give a good account of themselves.”
Wales: 15. Leigh Halfpenny, 14. Josh Adams, 13. George North, 12. Joe Hawkins, 11. Rio Dyer, 10. Dan Biggar, 9. Tomos Williams, 1. Gareth Thomas, 2. Ken Owens (capt), 3. Tomas Francis, 4. Adam Beard, 5. Alun Wyn Jones, 6. Jac Morgan, 7. Justin Tipuric, 8. Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: 16. Scott Baldwin, 17. Rhys Carre, 18. Dillon Lewis, 19. Dafydd Jenkins, 20. Tommy Reffell, 21. Rhys Webb, 22. Owen Williams, 23. Alex Cuthbert.
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