Wales welcome Taulupe Faletau back into their side for World Cup opener against Fiji after ’15 weeks of hell’, with flanker Jac Morgan set to captain Warren Gatland’s outfit in Dewi Lake’s absence

The World Cup team of Wales left Paris by train for Bordeaux yesterday and welcomed number 8 Taulupe Faletau back into their team after ’15 weeks of hell’.

Warren Gatland’s men face Fiji here on Sunday in their Pool C opener. They’ll hope their game with the Pacific Islanders goes as smoothly as their TGV ride across France.

The reality is that this probably won’t be the case, although head coach Gatland was able to mark his arrival in Bordeaux by naming a strong team. Co-captain Dewi Lake will not be involved against Fiji due to lack of training time, but Faletau is back after missing Wales’ warm-up games due to a calf problem.

Flanker Jac Morgan will co-captain with Lake, not in the 23. Gareth Davies, Nick Tompkins and Aaron Wainwright are other notable starting selections as well.

“The medical team has done a fantastic job getting Dewi back to full fitness,” said Gatland.

Gatland has named his team after enduring a tough schedule for his side this summer

“He hasn’t had as much training as the other whores since he got that blow to the knee (against England), so Ryan Elias and Elliot Dee have been selected for this match.”

After grueling training camps in Wales, Switzerland and Turkey, the Gatland men are now ready to play.

“We’ve had fifteen hellish weeks,” said prop Corey Domachowski, one of ten players ready for a World Cup victory against Fiji.

“It was absolutely brutal. I really think if we can apply what we’ve done on the training pitch to the playing pitch, we’ll be a team that’s hard to beat.

“We are not worried about any opposition. We know that we have quality in the team.’

Wales certainly does. And after a miserable season dominated by off-field chaos, the Gatland camp is happy again.

“The team has worked incredibly hard in recent months and has prepared well for Fiji in recent weeks,” said Gatland.

“Fiji have a good side with some great individual athletes and they play with a lot more structure now than they may have traditionally.

“We’ve got good clarity about what we want to achieve and the way we want to play this weekend. It will be an exciting game on Sunday that we enjoy.

“The guys look sharp. There is a great atmosphere in this group, where players work for each other and enjoy each other’s company.

“We are in a good place and can’t wait to get our World Cup campaign underway.”

Scrum half Davies has played in each of Wales’ last 12 World Cup matches in the 2015 and 2019 competitions and will start in Bordeaux with Tomos Williams on the bench.

Davies fell out of favor with Wales when the team was led by Wayne Pivac and has admitted that he felt he had to change his game, something that meant he lost his love for rugby.

“Twelve months ago I probably wouldn’t have thought I’d be involved in the first game of a World Cup, but anything can happen in rugby, as we all know,” said the number 9.

“I’ve worked incredibly hard over the past year to work myself into the fight and hopefully I can show that on Sunday.”

The Wales squad for Fiji contains a nice mix of youth and experience. In addition to newcomers such as captain Morgan and his nine fellow World Cup debutants, Gatland can call on experience from the likes of Faletau, fly-half Dan Biggar, center George North and full-back Liam Williams.

George North is about to make his 17th World Cup appearance in what is his fourth tournament

Flanker Jac Morgan will be captain, while Dewi Lake is not quite ready to return to action

North is partnered with Tompkins in midfield and will make his 17th World Cup appearance in what is his fourth tournament. The back three from Wales look dangerous and consist of Liam Williams, Louis Rees-Zammit and Josh Adams.

Biggar only needs three points against Fiji to reach 100 at World Cups. “We don’t really care if we’re favorites or underdogs. Fiji are playing well and are above us in the table,” said Wales skills coach Neil Jenkins.

“It’s a good side who won at Twickenham a few weeks ago and gave France a difficult time before that. We are under no illusions. We have to get on top of it on Sunday evening.

“You want to get off to the best possible start.”

Fiji will name their team for Wales on Friday after losing the main half to Caleb Muntz for the entire tournament earlier this week due to a knee injury sustained in training.

Wales v Fiji (kick-off Sunday 8pm, Bordeaux):Liam Williams; Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Gareth Thomas, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Aaron Wainwright, Jac Morgan (Captain), Taulupe Faletau

Replacements: Elliot Dee, Corey Domachowski, Dillon Lewis, Dafydd Jenkins, Tommy Reffell, Tomos Williams, Sam Costelow, Rio Dyer