Wales set to make key changes to team against France

At least two areas of the side are set to see changes from the side that lost to England last weekend

Wales are set to make changes in their front-row, back-row and midfield as they look to bounce back from a heavy defeat against England with the visit of title favourites France this Sunday.

Steve Tandy said there will be no knee-jerk decisions after the 48-7 defeat to England in their Six Nations opener. But that doesn’t mean he will name the same side entirely, with Joe Hawkins and Olly Cracknell set to be brought in to the starting side.

There’s also understood to be at least one change in the front-row – with Rhys Carre likely to start.

Ben Thomas and Josh Macleod are the players in line to be replaced by Hawkins and Cracknell, as Tandy looks to add a little more steel to his side ahead of the clash with France.

Wales continually lost the gainline and were second-best in pretty much every area of the game last Saturday.

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Leicester back-row Cracknell should deliver some robust and reliable work on either side of the ball. The 31-year-old made his debut for Wales in the autumn and has impressed in the Gallagher PREM.

However, a knock last week kept him out of the team to face England.

He’s set to win his third cap for Wales this weekend – with Alex Mann likely to move across to openside, replicating the starting back-row from Wales’ only win of the autumn against Japan.

As for Hawkins, while still a playmaking option, he perhaps offers more in terms of ball-carrying than Cardiff centre Thomas.

The Scarlets man had finished the autumn in possession of the 12 jersey, but was overlooked to start last weekend’s game with England – having spent much of the festive period playing 10 for the struggling west Walians.

Otherwise, Tandy is set to name largely the same starting XV as last week – with an unchanged back-three, half-back pairing and second-row.

The only place that should see change is in the front-row, where different options are believed to have been considered.

Loosehead Nicky Smith, captain Dewi Lake and tighthead Archie Griffin started against England last Saturday.

Were they to switch things up entirely in the front-row, then Carre, Ryan Elias and Tomas Francis would likely start.

Any changes in the front-row seem likelier to affect the props – with Carre understood to be starting – than squad captain Lake. It would be a monumental decision to take the Ospreys hooker out of the starting side.

However, even if Elias doesn’t oust Lake from the starting team, it looks likely the Scarlets hooker could feature in his first Test since the 2024 autumn campaign as Tandy decides what to do with his bench, having gone for a 6-2 split last week.