Ruddock bloods his youngsters

Four changes for Wales ahead of Canuck clash

Mike Ruddock has made four changes to the team that thrashed the US Eagles 77-3 in Hartford last week, including handing Under-21 star Chris Czekaj an international debut.

The Cardiff Blues 19-year-old scored five tries in the Wales U21 Grand Slam, and played twice for the Blues in the Celtic League in April's end-of-season run-in.

"We brought Chris on the tour to see how he would respond to the squad environment and we are very pleased," said Ruddock.

"He has had a great season with the Under 21s and has broken into the Blues side. He has impressed and has made enough progress for us to be very comfortable with him starting a Test.

"He is a natural left-sided player and we are looking for cover in that role for Shane Williams. Craig Morgan did well last week but we always wanted to have a look at both players during the tour. It means we will hopefully have at least three options there next season."

He is joined in the matchday 22 by Matthew Jones, one of his U21 team-mates and a consistent performer for the Ospreys this season. Jones starts from the bench.

Rhys Thomas comes in for Matthew Rees at hooker to win his second cap, and Robert Sidoli for Brent Cockbain in the second row.

Also handed a start is Saracens prop Ben Broster, who impressed when scrummaging against Graham Rowntree, and makes a full Test debut after his appearance as a sub last week.

"With regards to the tight head position, Ben did very well when he came on last week," said Ruddock.

"The scrum continued to dominate while he was also very active in the loose with the ball in hand and he made some excellent tackles.

"Adam [Jones] has had a great season for Wales and, very much like Brent Cockbain, is a mainstay of the pack. But this tour is finding out about different players and combinations as much as it is to win both Tests.

"We have five changes on the bench which should mean that everyone on the tour will have played a part in at least one match which is great for us to gain knowledge of the players in a Test environment."

Wales: 15 Kevin Morgan (Dragons), 14 Rhys Williams (Blues), 13 Mark Taylor (Sale Sharks, captain), 12 Ceri Sweeney (Dragons), 11 Chris Czekaj (Blues), 10 Nicky Robinson (Blues), 9 Michael Phillips (Blues), 8 Ryan Jones (Ospreys), 7 Colin Charvis (Newcastle Falcons), 6 Jonathan Thomas (Ospreys), 5 Robert Sidoli (Blues), 4 Luke Charteris (Dragons), 3 Ben Broster (Saracens), 2 Rhys Thomas (Blues), 1 Duncan Jones (Ospreys)
Replacements: 16 Mefin Davies (Gloucester), 17 John Yapp (Blues), 18 Robin Sowden-Taylor (Blues), 19 Alix Popham (Scarlets), 20 Andrew Williams (Bath Rugby), 21 Matthew Jones (Ospreys), 22 Matthew Watkins (Scarlets)

Kick-off: 14:10 local time, 19:10 GMT
Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia)