Ben Moon and Jack Nowell return to England line-up for clash against Wales
Jack Nowell is back in the England XV
©PA
England head coach Eddie Jones has named prop Ben Moon and wing Jack Nowell in the starting line-up for the third round of the Six Nations clash against Wales to be played at Principality Stadium this weekend.
Moon will take the place of Mako Vunipola, who is ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with an ankle ligament injury while Nowell has been drafted in the place of Chris Ashton after the Sale winger is down with a calf strain.
Joe Cokanasiga, Brad Shields, Ellis Genge and Harry Williams are named on the bench as England look to maintain their winning streak in the tournament.
“Ben Moon will start and Ellis Genge will finish so we will get a great 80 minutes out of those two," said Jones.
"It is disappointing to lose a player of the calibre of Mako Vunipola but we have two very good players who will do a great job for us.
“Jack Nowell will start and Joe Cokanasiga will come onto the bench. As we saw in the autumn Joe is a player of great potential so we are looking forward to him adding to the squad.
“Brad Shields comes in for Nathan Hughes as a finisher as we just feel like it is going to be a high work-rate game.”
England will be up against an in-form Wales side, who are on a 11-game winning streak and Jones is expecting a high intensity encounter at Principality Stadium.
“England and Wales is always a big game. Intense rivals and there is the historical context to it, but for us it is our most important game because it is our next game and that is how we are treating it.
“Whenever you play against a Warren Gatland side you are playing against a side that is going to be very physical on the gain line. They are always very fit so you have to make sure you win the gain line and then find opportunities of where you are going to attack them.
“As you have read in the media, it’s all about Wales, we are playing potentially the greatest team ever. Their players are full of emotion and it’s the biggest game they are going to play in their lives. We have had a good week just focussing on ourselves and focussing on getting our preparation right.”
