| venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff date: Sunday March 10th kick off: 15:00 GMT |
| coverage: You can watch live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and online from 14:20 GMT. Listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Radio Wales and Radio Cymru. Text commentary and highlights are available on his website and app on BBC Sport. |
Wales head coach Warren Gatland says it was not a difficult decision to leave out George North and Nick Tompkins for the Six Nations match against France.
Gatland caused a big surprise by ditching the established center duo and bringing in a new midfield pairing of Joe Roberts and Owen Watkin.
“They (North and Tompkins) were outstanding during the World Cup,” Gatland said.
“Again, this is an opportunity for us to look at a few other players.”
North, 31, is Wales' most experienced Six Nations squad with 120 caps and four World Cup appearances.
It was the second game in which the Ospreys center was not selected after being left out of the squad following the opening game loss against Scotland.
“George and I had an honest discussion about whether he would be available for the next World Cup,” Gatland said.
“He started his career at a very young age, 18 years old, playing for Wales.
“Part of our discussion was about how to manage him going forward.
“We need to have some depth at that 13th spot, which is why Joe gets the chance.
“We spoke to George and I have to say how both boys have reacted after the disappointment of being left out this week. It was wonderful.”
“That’s a credit to them. That disappointment, They were outstanding for us. ”
Thompkins had to return to English club Saracens during the Six Nations hiatus around the defeat to Ireland.
Mr Gatland said it was causing problems with missed training sessions, but Wales selected England-based duo Dafydd Jenkins and Tommy Leffell, as well as Racing 92 Rock's Will Rowlands to represent France.
“I spoke to Nick that week and said, 'I thought he was a great guy when we were together,'” Gatland said.
“Even though everyone says they want to leave Wales and the players want to leave Wales, it can be a bit distracting not to have that continuity throughout the week.
“We have players that we've been working on since last week when we weren't there. I'm not saying that's part of the selection, but it could have a slight impact.”
“I talked to Nick a little bit about that and I said we're not unhappy with him and that after he plays the first three games, it's an opportunity to continue working on developing the depth of this team. ”
The new duo now have 38 international caps, with Watkin winning 37 of them, replacing Tompkins and North's 155 caps.
Scarlets center Roberts, 23, will make his first start in the competition, while Watkin will be recalled after featuring in the opening game against Scotland.
It will be Roberts' second cap since making his debut in August 2023 in the World Cup pre-game defeat against England at Twickenham.
“We wanted to give Joe a chance,” Gatland said.
“He was unlucky with the World Cup, he had a knee injury but it was healing.
“He probably had a hard time dealing with the amount that was thrown at him during the World Cup camp.
“He's a lot sharper than he was during those days when we were together in camp. He's also a left-footed option and he's been training well.
“We moved Owen from No. 13 in the first game to No. 12, but we potentially see him as an option and want to see how he does.
“We spoke to both boys about their role and how important it is and they have a chance to make a statement.
“What I'm looking for is not for them to play, but for them to have a voice and make sure they can communicate to the teenagers from the outside.
“This is huge for us in terms of commitment, but they also realize how vocal they need to be on offense and defense.”
