Wales head coach Steve Tandy has named Max Llewellyn alongside Eddie James in the midfield for Saturday's match against Japan, which opens the Nations Championship. The game kicks off at 16:40 GMT.
Llewellyn stands 1.96 metres tall and weighs 107 kilograms, while James is 1.90 metres and 103 kilograms, meaning the pair will form one of Wales' heaviest midfield combinations. Tandy has thus moved away from the policy of selecting a more recognisable playmaker at inside centre, with Llewellyn awarded the number 12 shirt.
Sam Costelow was preferred to Dan Edwards at fly-half for the opener. Wingers Josh Adams and Louis Rees-Zammit, along with full-back Blair Murray, make up the back three. In the front row, Nicky Smith and Archie Griffin start alongside captain Dewi Lake. Dafydd Jenkins has recovered from a knee injury and continues his Six Nations partnership with Ben Carter, while the back row features Alex Mann, Jac Morgan and Aaron Wainwright.
Tandy has made seven changes to the team that lost 43-0 to South Africa in July. Nine of the 15 starters against Japan, including six of the eight forwards, play club rugby in England. The starting XV includes three Scarlets players, two from Cardiff and one from the Dragons, with no Ospreys players selected. Edwards and Reuben Morgan-Williams have been named among the replacements.
"There is great competition for places within the squad, and that is exactly what we want," Tandy said. "It is exciting to be back home. We want to go out on the pitch on Saturday, leave our mark on the game and start the next phase of our Nations Championship campaign strongly."
This will be the sixth different centre combination in Tandy's 13th match in charge of the national team. The number 12 shirt in the previous 12 matches had been worn by either Joe Hawkins or Ben Thomas. Thomas and Llewellyn were the pair that started against South Africa in July, but Thomas is out with an ankle injury, and Hawkins has not been included in the 23-man squad for the autumn matches.
Llewellyn played most of his early senior rugby for Cardiff at inside centre before moving to Gloucester. At Gloucester, he has more often played at outside centre alongside England fly-half Seb Atkinson at Kingsholm. Before the start of the season, Llewellyn told BBC Sport Wales that inside centre was his preferred position. This season, he has worn the number 12 shirt at Gloucester only once, and has started at inside centre for Wales only once, in a World Cup warm-up match against England in August 2023.
James emerged from the Scarlets as the more natural player for the number 12 role, but Tandy says he sees the future of the 24-year-old from Carmarthen in Wales at number 13.
Wales began its Nations Championship campaign in July with a win against Fiji, before losing to Argentina and South Africa. Following the resumption against Japan, Wales will host New Zealand and Australia in two consecutive Saturdays. On the final weekend of November, Wales travels to Allianz Stadium in Twickenham for a match against an as-yet unknown opponent in the play-off. Wales and Japan are currently fifth in their respective hemispheric tables, with Japan having beaten Italy in July, while losing to Ireland and France in the first three matches of the tournament.
Wales team against Japan: Murray; Rees-Zammit, James, Llewellyn, Adams; Costelow, Tomos Williams; Smith, Lake (captain), Griffin, Jenkins, Carter, Mann, Morgan, Wainwright. Replacements: Elias, Carre, Francis, Teddy Williams, Botham, Morgan-Williams, D. Edwards, Hennessey.
