Wales make two changes for France

Wales coach Mike Ruddock has made two changes from the team that beat Italy 38-8 for Saturday's trip to France.

Kevin Morgan takes over from his injured Newport-Gwent Dragons colleague Hal Luscombe on the right wing. And in the pack Neath-Swansea Ospreys forward Ryan Jones is preferred at blindside flanker to Jonathan Thomas. Thomas, a try-scorer in Rome, drops down to the bench instead of Ian Gough, while Cardiff back Rhys Williams steps up in place of Morgan. Luscombe is sidelined by a hamstring problem sustained during the Six Nations game against Italy last weekend.

However, the experienced and in-form Morgan was already pushing hard for a start at Stade de France. "Due to his impressive performances from the bench, Kevin was very much in the selection mix anyway, and the unfortunate injury to Hal gives him the chance to start," said Ruddock. "Now that Ryan Jones has recovered from injury, we have increased the options in the back row. "Jonathan Thomas is unlucky to lose his spot after performing well against Italy and scoring a try, but such is the competition for places that every position is debated in detail. "For this particular game, we felt we might not always be afforded the open spaces out wide we were able to exploit against Italy, so an extra big ball-carrier in the back-row is thought to be necessary on this occasion. "Obviously, it's a 22-man game these days, and there is every chance that Jonathan will be making an impact from the bench." Wales have beaten France on two of their last three visits to Paris, and another victory this time around would keep them firmly on course for a first Five or Six Nations title triumph since 1994. "Graham Henry (former Wales coach) said a couple of years ago that we should 'be bold' when going to France, and he was proved right," said Ruddock. "That is a great way to approach the game, and something we will further endorse with the players this week."

G Thomas (Toulouse, capt); K Morgan (Newport-Gwent), T Shanklin (Cardiff), G Henson (Neath-Swansea), S Williams (Neath-Swansea); S Jones (Clermont Auvergne), D Peel (Llanelli); G Jenkins (Cardiff), M Davies (Gloucester), A Jones; (Neath-Swansea), B Cockbain (Neath-Swansea), R Sidoli (Cardiff); R Jones (Neath-Swansea), M Williams (Cardiff), M Owen (Newport-Gwent).

Replacements: R McBryde (Llanelli), J Yapp (Cardiff), J Thomas (Neath-Swansea), R Sowden-Taylor (Cardiff), G Cooper (Newport-Gwent), C Sweeney Newport-Gwent), R Williams (Cardiff).
