Wales v France: Teams
James Hook has been charged will releasing human wrecking ball Jamie Roberts for Wales against France.
Last Updated: 14/10/11 5:06pm
James Hook has been charged will releasing human wrecking ball Jamie Roberts for Wales against France at Eden Park.
Hook has got the nod to replace the injured Rhys Priestland at fly-half in the semi-final encounter, with the vastly-experienced Stephen Jones named on the bench.
The loss of Preistland is a blow to Welsh hopes as the Scarlets ace had been in impressive form during the tournament - with his partnership with Roberts, in particular, catching the eye.
Priestland was given as long as possible to recover from a shoulder injury suffered against Ireland in the quarter-final - however he still needs extra rehabilitation over the next few days.
Hook, though, is a more than capable replacement - with the Perpignan-bound back preferred in the No.10 shirt for his running game, compared to the kicking of Jones.
Unchanged
That is the only change for Wales, who will be appearing in their first World Cup semi-final since 1987.
Utility Jean-Marc Doussain is poised to make his debut for France after he replaced David Marty on the bench.
Marty was initially named by Marc Lievremont in an unchanged squad following the 19-12 win over England.
However the Toulouse half-back Doussain joins Fulgence Ouedraogo in being added to the 22 - with Louis Picamoles missing out.
Doussain, 20, comes in as France still have fears over the fitness of Dimitri Yachvili, with the scrum-half having been struggling with a thigh injury.
Yachvili only returned to training on Wednesday, with Morgan Parra already confirmed as the kicker for the clash.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (capt), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Paul James, 18 Bradley Davies, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Scott Williams.
France: 15 Maxime Medard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Morgan Parra, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (capt), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Fabien Barcella, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 20 Francois Trinh-Duc, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Cedric Heymans.