Wales, reeling from the 48-7 defeat to England at Twickenham on matchday one, also see Leicester number eight Ollie Cracknell return to the starting XV along with props Rhys Carre and Tomas Francis, who makes his first international start in three years after returning to the Test stage last weekend.
Ospreys Dewi Lake retains the captaincy and joins the duo in the front row of a side largely given a shot at redemption against the defending champions, who Wales have not beaten since 2019, with a six-day turnaround to follow for Wales’ home fixture against Scotland on 21 February.
Exeter’s Dafydd Jenkins and former Osprey Adam Beard continue in the second row.
In the back row, Craknell is set for his Guinness Six Nations debut at eight. Dragons Aaron Wainwright moves across to blindside flanker, whilst Cardiff’s Alex Mann moves to openside flanker.
Tomos Williams and Dan Edwards continue at scrum-half and fly-half respectively.
Hawkins, named at inside centre alongside club teammate Eddie James, will resume their battle against France’s new-look Pau combination of debutant Fabien Brau-Boirie and Emilien Gailleton, having faced off in the Champions Cup a month ago for their clubs.
Bristol speedster Louis Rees-Zammit remains at fullback with Josh Adams and Ellis Mee given another chance on the wings.
There are five forwards and three backs among the replacements. Scarlets Ryan Elias is in line to make his first appearance for Wales since the 2024 Autumn Nations Series. Loosehead prop Nicky Smith and tighthead prop Archie Griffin, who both started last weekend, join Elias as front row cover for Wales.
Ben Carter and Taine Plumtree are the other forward replacements, with fly-half Jarrod Evans included among the replacement backs, along with utility man Mason Grady and scrum-half Kieran Hardy.
Tandy’s side are huge underdogs against a France team that breezed past Ireland 36-14 on the opening weekend.
Wales have lost their past 12 games in the Six Nations, a streak that goes back to the win against Italy in Rome in March 2023, and have not won at home in the tournament since beating Scotland in February 2022.
Speaking ahead of the match, Wales head coach Steve 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 about the fact that we didn’t put ourselves in 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.
“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.”
Wales XV to face France:
15 Louis Rees-Zammit, 14 Ellis Mee, 13 Eddie James, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Tomos Williams, 1 Rhys Carre, 2 Dewi Lake (captain), 3 Thomas Francis, 4 Dafydd Jenkins, 5 Adam Beard, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Alex Mann, 8 Ollie Cracknell.
Replacements:
16 Ryan Elias, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Ben Carter, 20 Taine Plumtree, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Mason Grady.
[Lead image: Huw Evans Photography]
