Steve Tandy has made four changes to the Wales side that lost heavily to England in the first round of the 2026 Six Nations.

Olly Cracknell comes into the back row at number eight, with Alex Mann and Aaron Wainwright shifting to the openside and blindside flank respectively.

The Wales head coach has also swapped the props, with Rhys Carre and Tomas Francis handed starts, and Nicky Smith and Archie Griffin dropping to the bench.

There is only one change in the backline, with a straight swap at inside centre, as Joe Hawkins comes in for Ben Thomas in the 12 jersey.

Dewi Lake captains at hooker, with Adam Beard and Dafydd Jenkins making up an unchanged second row.

Tomos Williams and Dan Edwards continue as the first choice halfbacks, while Eddie James keeps his place at outside centre.

The back three is also unchanged, with Josh Adams on the left wing, Ellis Mee on the right, and Louis Rees-Zammit at fullback.

Against England, Tandy selected a 6-2 bench split between forwards and backs, but has reverted to type for the visit of France to the Principality Stadium on Sunday.

Jarrod Evans comes onto the bench in place of flanker Harri Deaves, while Ryan Elias is picked as the replacement hooker ahead of Liam Belcher.

Ben Carter, Taine Plumtree, Kieran Hardy, and Mason Grady all keep their places as replacements from last week.

Tandy said: “There are a few changes for this week. A lot of it is based on who we are playing and then Olly Cracknell has done a full training week this week and also played really well in the autumn.

“We were bitterly disappointed with the performance last week. We’ve addressed it in meetings. The boys were open and honest around the fact that we didn’t put ourselves on the game.

“We felt we played into England’s hands a little bit and obviously the discipline was hugely disappointing. It’s a massive lesson for us. It’s something we need to correct and put more of our game out on the field on Sunday.”

On this being Wales’ first home game of the Six Nations Tandy added: “We’re excited to get back to Principality Stadium. We had four games in the autumn and the crowd was incredible.

“I know I’ve spoken a lot about the New Zealand game – the crowd, the energy it brought and the response from players. The supporters mean a huge amount to us and they do inspire the players. Our aim on the weekend is to inspire the fans too.”

Teams

Wales

Louis Rees-Zammit; Ellis Mee, Eddie James, Joe Hawkins, Josh Adams; Dan Edwards, Tomos Williams; Rhys Carre, Dewi Lake (capt), Tomas Francis; Dafydd Jenkins, Adam Beard; Aaron Wainwright, Alex Mann, Olly Cracknell.

Replacement

Ryan Elias, Nicky Smith, Archie Griffin, Ben Carter, Taine Plumtree, Kieran Hardy, Jarrod Evans, Mason Grady.

France

Thomas Ramos; Theo Attissogbe, Emilien Gailleton, Fabien Brau-Boirie, Louis Bielle-Biarrey; Mattheiu Jalibert, Antoine Dupont (capt); Jean-Bapiste Gros, Julien Marchand, Dorian Aldegheri; Charles Ollivon, Mickael Guillard, Francois Cros, Oscar Jegou, Anthony Jelonch.

Replacements:

Maxime Lamothe, Rodrigue Neti, Regis Montagne, Thibaud Flament, Emmanuel Meafou, Lenni Nouchi, Baptiste Serin, Noah Nene.

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