Wales make seven changes for Six Nations game against England
George North will play his 50th Six Nations game for Wales
©PA
Warren Gatland has made seven changes to the starting line up for Wales' clash against England in the Six Nations, with George North returning for the visit to Twickenham.
North recovers from a shoulder injury to make his 50th appearance in the Six Nations and will start in the midfield alongside Nick Tompkins while Josh Adams and Rio Dyer continue to remain on the wings with Cameron Winnett at full-back.
Sam Costelow misses out due to a concussion with Ioan Lloyd starting at fly-half while Alex Mann replaces James Botham in the back-row. Dafydd Jenkins will continue to captain at second row while Keiron Assiratti, Elliot Dee and Gareth Thomas start in a new-look front-row.
"We've been critical and tough on ourselves this week. That first half was nowhere near the standards we expect. We simply cannot start the same way this Saturday," said Gatland.
"We showed in the second half against Scotland what we are capable of. Now it's about building on that performance and playing with some tempo from the off.
"We've made a few changes to the starting line-up this weekend which gives opportunities to the players coming in. We need to be accurate and keep our discipline.
"This is a massive game, not only because of the history and what it means to everyone in Wales. But it's an opportunity to get things on track a bit more.
"England are in a rebuilding phase. We'll go there with a lot of confidence we can build on that second-half and belief."
Wales XV: 15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Gareth Thomas
Reserves: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Will Rowlands, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Cai Evans, 23 Mason Grady
