Faletau dropped as Wales welcome back Navidi and Williams

Taulupe Faletau has been dropped in one of four changes for Wales’ trip to England in a crunch Six Nations clash on Saturday.

Josh Navidi will play at number eight after overcoming a hamstring problem, while the reigning champions welcome back Liam Williams following an ankle injury sustained at the Rugby World Cup, with Tomos Williams and Dan Biggar also returning.

Rob Evans comes into the front-row for his first start since the 2019 competition, with head coach Wayne Pivac excited by the challenge ahead at Twickenham after back-to-back losses against Ireland and France.

“We’ve had a good two weeks and we are really excited about heading up to Twickenham for what will be a huge Six Nations clash,” he said

“We have had the chance to put the disappointments of the loss to France behind us and we know heading to London we need to be more clinical in attack and convert the opportunities that we are creating.

TEAM NEWS  Liam Williams and Josh Navidi return from injury for #ENGvWAL  Enwir hefyd Tomos Williams a Rob Evans yn y XV cychwynnol. ⠀
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 – https://t.co/WaR5TRxH2m #HWFN pic.twitter.com/apinMdJ2Vf

— Welsh Rugby Union  (@WelshRugbyUnion) March 5, 2020

“Liam’s return to full fitness is a positive after the loss of Josh [Adams], as is the return of Josh Navidi.

“We have been targeting this game for both of their returns and they have trained really well, so it’s a great opportunity for them on Saturday.”

Wales: Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Nick Tompkins, Hadleigh Parkes, Liam Williams, Dan Biggar, Tomos Williams, Rob Evans, Ken Owens, Dillon Lewis, Jake Ball, Alun Wyn Jones, Ross Moriarty, Justin Tipuric, Josh Navidi

Replacements: Ryan Elias, Rhys Carre, Leon Brown, Aaron Shingler, Taulupe Faletau, Rhys Webb, Jarrod Evans, Johnny McNicholl 

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