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Cardiff Blues trio to start for Wales in French Test

International | 22nd October 2020


Five Cardiff Blues players have been included in the Wales matchday squad for Saturday's international clash against France.

Wayne Pivac's men take on their French counterparts as they continue preparations ahead of the finale of the Guinness Six Nations and the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup.

Cory Hill, Rhys Carré and Josh Adams all return to the starting line-up for the clash at Stade de France, while Dillon Lewis and Seb Davies are named on the bench.

Lock Hill, who re-joined home region Cardiff Blues from Dragons over the summer, will be looking to extend his 12-match winning streak in the red jersey, a run which stretches back to the 2018 Guinness Six Nations.

He lines up at lock alongside skipper Alun Wyn Jones, who wins his 148th Test cap, drawing level with Richie McCaw for the world record of Test appearances.

Carré, who was another arrival over the summer following a season with Saracens, makes his second start in a Wales jersey.

Wing Adams, who combines with Leigh Halfpenny and George North in the back three, missed the Twickenham clash in March through injury. However, he has been in red-hot form for both club and country over the last 18 months, and has 10 tries in his last 10 appearances on the international stage.

Academy product Davies, who has been in impressive form the region, will be hoping to make his first appearance for Wales since facing Tonga in 2018, as he is joined on the bench by uncapped duo Sam Parry and Louis Rees-Zammit.

WALES TEAM TO PLAY FRANCE:

15. Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets, 89 Caps)
14. George North (Ospreys, 95 Caps)
13. Jonathan Davies (Scarlets, 81 Caps)
12. Nick Tompkins (Dragons, 4 Caps)
11. Josh Adams (Cardiff Blues, 24 Caps)
10. Dan Biggar (Northampton, 83 Caps)
9. Rhys Webb (Ospreys, 33 Caps):
8. Taulupe Faletau (Bath, 76 Caps)
7. Justin Tipuric (Ospreys, 76 Caps)
6. Aaron Wainwright (Dragons, 21 Caps)
5. Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, 138 Caps)
4. Cory Hill (Cardiff Blues, 25 Caps)
3. Samson Lee (Scarlets, 41 Caps)
2. Ryan Elias (Scarlets, 13 Caps)
1. Rhys Carré (Cardiff Blues, 8 caps)

Replacements:

16 Sam Parry (Ospreys, Uncapped)
17 Nicky Smith (Ospreys, 35 Caps)
18 Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues, 26 Caps)
19 Seb Davies (Cardiff Blues, 7 Caps)
20 James Davies (Scarlets, 8 Caps)
21 Gareth Davies (Scarlets, 53 Caps)
22 Rhys Patchell (Scarlets, 19 Caps)
23 Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester, Uncapped).