Gavin Henson has been included as a replacement for Wales' Six Nations match against France in Paris on Friday evening.
Star centre recovers from calf strain
Gavin Henson has been included as a replacement for Wales' Six Nations match against France in Paris on Friday evening.
The Ospreys star has recovered from a calf muscle strain which sidelined him for the victories over Scotland and England.
However, head coach Warren Gatland has opted to keep the all-Cardiff Blues centre pairing of Tom Shanklin and Jamie Roberts for the visit to the Stade de France.
Henson, who last played international rugby when Wales clinched last season's Six Nations title by beating France in Cardiff, takes over from Ospreys colleague Andrew Bishop on the bench.
His selection comes less than a week after Henson and three of his Wales colleagues - Andy Powell, Jonathan Thomas and Rhys Thomas - were rebuked by Gatland and team manager Alan Phillips.
All four players were forced to apologise after what the Welsh Rugby Union termed "varying degrees of regrettable conduct" whilst celebrating their 23-15 win over England.
Williams back
Gatland also welcomes back star winger Shane Williams for the match, in which Wales seek a record-equalling ninth successive Six Nations victory.
Williams has recovered from the ankle injury which forced him to miss the England match - Mark Jones handing back the number 11 jersey.
"A fit Shane Williams is a player any coach would want in their side so it was a natural decision for him to come in for Mark Jones, with no disrespect to Mark who did a good job for us against England," Gatland said.
"France are one of the top sides in the championship and they are always going to be tough opposition, especially at home, and this is a must-win game for them if they are to keep their title hopes alive.
"We also know how tough it will be for them with a short six-day turnaround for many of their players who have featured in domestic rugby this weekend.
"We had a similar experience ourselves in between the Scotland and England games and found it hard going, so that is something we must try to take advantage of."
Wales: 15-L Byrne (Ospreys); 14-L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues), 13-T Shanklin (Cardiff Blues), 12-J Roberts (Cardiff Blues), 11-S Williams (Ospreys); 10-S Jones (Scarlets), 9-M Phillips (Ospreys); 1-G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), 2-M Rees (Scarlets), 3-A Jones (Ospreys), 4-I Gough (Ospreys), 5-A-W Jones (Ospreys), 6-R Jones (Ospreys, capt), 7-M Williams (Cardiff Blues), 8-A Powell (Cardiff Blues).
Replacements: H Bennett (Ospreys), J Yapp (Cardiff Blues), L Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), D Jones (Scarlets), D Peel (Sale Sharks), J Hook (Ospreys), G Henson (Ospreys).
