Wales recall for Stoddart

Morgan Stoddart will make his first appearance for Wales in two-and-a-half years after he was selected in the line-up to face England.

Scarlets wing to start against England

Morgan Stoddart will make his first appearance for Wales in two-and-a-half years after he was selected in the line-up to face England. The Scarlets back has not played for his country since the autumn internationals in 2008, but with George North and Leigh Halfpenny both sidelined he has been restored to the wing for the RBS Six Nations opener. Stoddart will form a new-look back three, with James Hook preferred at full-back to Lee Byrne and Shane Williams returning on the wing. Coach Warren Gatland has also handed 25-year-old prop Craig Mitchell his first start, after five appearances off the bench. Mitchell joins the experienced Matthew Rees and Paul James in the front-row. Sam Warburton, Dan Lydiate and Andy Powell will team up in a powerful-looking back-row. Wales assistant coach Rob Howley said: "In the front row we have two guys who have done well at regional level and know each others games either side of our leader and the Lions hooker in Matthew Rees, so we are comfortable with the selection.

Magnificent

"The second row has been consistent in recent times and we have two good youngsters who have both been playing exceptionally well coming into the back row. "Dan (Lydiate) was magnificent for us in the autumn and Sam (Warburton) has been going great for the Blues in Europe recently and there is a nice balance there with the ball carrying abilities of Andy Powell completing the trio. "This is going to be a battle of inches and not yards and we know the pack can dominate like they did in our Autumn games we are in with a good chance. "We did debate selection at fly half and elsewhere in the backs but we feel we have settled on the right pairing there with the experience they offer. "Lee Byrne misses out solely through virtue of the fact he has had limited game time after injury and he will offer us some impact from the bench, which is fairly experienced in itself and will undoubtedly be utilised during the evening. "We are playing England at the home of Welsh rugby at the start of the Rugby World Cup year so we are looking to get ourselves of to a great start and create some momentum and I can't think of a better place for a Welshman to do that." The uncapped Rhys Priestland is named on the bench alongside the experienced Ryan Jones, Dwayne Peel and Jonathan Thomas. Wales: 15 James Hook, 14 Morgan Stoddart, 13 Jamie Roberts, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 1 Paul James, 2 Matthew Rees (capt), 3 Craig Mitchell, 4 Bradley Davies, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 6 Dan Lydiate, 7 Sam Warburton, 8 Andy Powell.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 John Yapp, 18 Ryan Jones, 19 Jonathan Thomas, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 Rhys Priestland, 22 Lee Byrne