Wales unleash 33-stone centre pairing of James and Llewellyn against Japan

Wales will field one of the heaviest centre combinations in their history when Scarlets back Eddie James and Gloucester’s Max Llewellyn line up together against Japan in Cardiff on Saturday, with the pair combining for a combined weight of 33 stone.

The partnership is untested at Test level. Llewellyn, who stands 6ft 6in and weighs 16st 12lbs, has started at inside centre just once before — on his debut against England in a World Cup warm-up in August 2023 — but head coach Steve Tandy has handed him the number 12 jersey, with the 6ft 4in, 16st 3lb James wearing 13.

“There’s lots of competition for position within the squad, which is where we want to be,” Tandy said. “We’re excited to be back at home. We want to go out there on Saturday, put our mark on the match and start the next phase in our Nations Championship campaign strongly.”

Tandy has made seven changes from the side beaten 43-0 by South Africa in July. Tighthead prop Archie Griffin and lock Dafydd Jenkins return from injury for their first appearances in the competition, while Nicky Smith starts at loosehead. Hooker Dewi Lake captains the side again, with Ben Carter joining Jenkins in the second row.

Alex Mann starts at blindside flanker, Jac Morgan at openside, and Aaron Wainwright at number eight. Tomos Williams and Sam Costelow form the half-back pairing, with Louis Rees-Zammit and Josh Adams on the wings and Blair Murray at full-back.

Japan, ranked two places below Wales at 12th in the world, are the first Nations Championship visitors to Cardiff this month, with New Zealand and Australia to follow before the finals weekend at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham. Wales began the competition in the summer by beating Fiji in Cardiff before losing away to Argentina and South Africa.

Saturday’s match is Tandy’s latest opportunity to build momentum in his second full season in charge, having recorded three wins and nine defeats across his first 12 Tests as head coach.

Wales: B Murray (Scarlets); L Rees-Zammit (Bristol), E James (Scarlets), M Llewellyn (Gloucester), J Adams (Cardiff); S Costelow (Scarlets), Tomos Williams (Saracens); N Smith (Sale), D Lake (Gloucester, capt), A Griffin (Bath), D Jenkins (Exeter), B Carter (Dragons), A Mann (Cardiff), J Morgan (Gloucester), A Wainwright (Leicester).

Replacements: R Elias (Scarlets), R Carre (Saracens), T Francis (Sale), Teddy Williams, J Botham (Cardiff), R Morgan-Williams, D Edwards (Ospreys), L Hennessey (Bath).