Leigh Halfpenny will finally win his 100th cap for Wales against England on Saturday in a team captained by Jac Morgan. Three players are at the other end of the spectrum and will make their international debuts – Keiron Assiratti (tighthead prop), Corey Domachowski (loosehead prop) and Max Llewellyn (centre).

Louis Rees-Zammit insists he has only shown a fraction of his talent in his short career to date as he targets a World Cup debut. The Wales and Gloucester winger has scored nine tries in 25 Test matches and earned British and Irish Lions selection since making his debut as a teenager in late 2020 but, still only 22, he wants to take his game to another level.

Wales will be without Taulupe Faletau and Alex Cuthbert, who are among five players from the Wales squad who will not travel for the team’s next training camp in Turkey between July 23-31.

After demolishing England with a performance that made him cry with joy, France coach Fabien Galthié wants his entertainers to finish the Six Nations in style with a home win against Wales on Saturday. Defending champions France even have an outside chance of keeping their title. But they must beat Wales at Stade de France and hope No. 1-ranked Ireland then slip up at home to an England side reeling from last weekend’s 53-10 hammering by Les Tricolores.

Former Wales full-back Lee Byrne says his former side face a “huge task” on Saturday as they head to defending champions France in the Six Nations. Les Bleus claimed a record 53-10 victory at Twickenham last weekend and can retain their trophy with a bonus-point win at the Stade de France if Ireland fail to claim a point against England in Dublin later in the day. Wales’ only victory of the tournament in coach Warren Gatland’s second spell came last weekend in Italy.

Wales assistant coach Alex King has compared France captain Antoine Dupont with New Zealand superstar Dan Carter in terms of the way he influences Test matches. Wales face France in Paris on Saturday, when a bonus-point victory for Les Bleus would maintain pressure on Guinness Six Nations leaders and title favourites Ireland. And Wales’ acute degree of difficulty has not been helped by full-back Liam Williams missing out due to a shoulder injury.

Warren Gatland has revealed that a threat of possible player strike action before Wales’s Six Nations game against England caused “quite a significant split” and “tension” within his squad. Wales head to Rome for a Six Nations appointment with Italy on Saturday after losing their opening three games. Another defeat could mean a first Six Nations wooden spoon for 20 years, given that Wales’ final fixture is against France in Paris.

Rhys Webb is set to make his first Test start for three years as part of another big shake-up by Wales coach Warren Gatland. The Ospreys scrum-half – who has not been selected to begin a Test since 2020 – is poised to come in to face Italy in the Six Nations at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday. Gatland is expected to make changes to the starting lineup, with as many as seven potential alterations from the team that faced England.

Louis Rees-Zammit is backing Wales to get their attack together by the end of the Six Nations. The Gloucester flyer raced half the length of the pitch for a try that edged Wales head of England at the start of the second half at the weekend, but then saw his side slip to a third successive defeat. But the biggest attacking threat in the Welsh back line believes things will progress as the youngsters being introduced into Warren Gatland’s new look squad get a chance to gel.

After the strike that never was, the shock result that could be. Coach and rugby analyst Tomas Marks looks at the painful lessons from Murrayfield and believes Wales can benefit from the shake-up that followed. After a turbulent week off the pitch it’s all systems go for Wales against England. The performance against Scotland will have been dissected thoroughly and the main learnings from the match were the failure of the attack, inferior tackle success, and continuing ill discipline.

Ken Owens has told his Wales teammates to get their hard hats on and get ready for plenty more flak after the opening Six Nations hammerings to Ireland and Scotland. The Wales captain has warned the squad to prepare for “incoming grenades” ahead of the game against England in round three of the Six Nations. Owens is expecting plenty more criticism in the wake of the worst result against Scotland in the 140-year history of the fixture – a 35-7 defeat.

Warren Gatland has suggested his young blood policy is only half complete with Wales youngsters Mason Grady and Keiran Williams waiting in the wings. The Wales coach left experienced trio Alun Wyn Jones, Taulupe Faletau and Justin Tipuric out of Wales’ starting line-up for Saturday’s Six Nations clash against Scotland. Now, the New Zealander has revealed he is keeping close tabs on Ospreys centre Williams and Cardiff centre Grady with a view to promoting them in the way he has with Dafydd Jenkins, Christ Tshiunza and Tommy Reffell.