Wales head coach Steve Tandy has selected a new center partnership of Max Llewellyn and Eddie James for their Nations Championship opener against Japan on Saturday.
Llewellyn, standing at 6ft 6in and 107kg, and James, at 6ft 4in and 103kg, will form one of the largest midfield pairings for Wales. This decision marks a shift from Tandy's previous strategy of selecting a more traditional ball-playing inside center, with Llewellyn taking the number 12 jersey.
In other team changes, fly-half Sam Costelow has been chosen over Dan Edwards. The back three will consist of wings Josh Adams and Louis Rees-Zammit, with Blair Murray at full-back.
The front row will feature props Nicky Smith and Archie Griffin alongside captain Dewi Lake. Dafydd Jenkins has recovered from a knee injury and will partner Ben Carter in the second row. The back row comprises Alex Mann, Jac Morgan, and Aaron Wainwright.
Tandy has made seven personnel changes from the squad that suffered a 43-0 defeat to South Africa in July. Notably, nine of the starting 15 players, including six forwards, play their club rugby in England. Three players are from the Scarlets, two from Cardiff, and one from the Dragons. No Ospreys players are in the starting lineup, though half-backs Edwards and Reuben Morgan-Williams are named as replacements.
"There's lots of competition for positions within the squad, which is where we want to be," Tandy stated.
This will be Tandy's sixth different center partnership in his 13 games in charge, with Joe Hawkins or Ben Thomas having previously occupied the inside center role.
Thomas is unavailable due to a calf injury, while Hawkins was not selected for the autumn fixtures. Llewellyn, whose father Gareth was a former Wales lock, primarily played inside center for Cardiff before moving to Gloucester, where he has often featured at outside center. He expressed his preference for the number 12 jersey earlier in the season and has started there for Wales only once, in a World Cup warm-up game against England in August 2023. James, who came through the Scarlets system as a natural 12, is seen by Tandy as a future 13 for Wales.
Wales began their Nations Championship campaign in July with a win against Fiji, followed by losses to Argentina and South Africa. Following the match against Japan, Wales will host New Zealand and Australia before participating in play-off games at Twickenham in late November.
"We're excited to be back at home," said Tandy. "We want to go out there on Saturday, put our mark on the match and start the next phase in our Nations Championship campaign strongly."
Both Wales and Japan are currently fifth in their respective hemisphere standings. Japan secured a victory against Italy in July but lost to Ireland and France in their initial three matches of the tournament.
Wales team to face Japan: Murray; Rees-Zammit, James, Llewellyn, Adams; Costelow, Tomos Williams; Smith, Lake (capt), Griffin, Jenkins, Carter, Mann, Morgan, Wainwright. Replacements: Elias, Carre, Francis, Teddy Williams, Botham, Morgan-Williams, D Edwards, Hennessey.