Ireland begin their World Cup warm-up matches by hosting Italy at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Head coach Andy Farrell has named an experimental matchday squad for his side’s first fixture since clinching the Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam in March.

Here, the PA news agency picks out some of the main talking points ahead of Saturday evening’s match.

“Silver lining” of Sexton’s ban

Johnny Sexton’s three-match suspension has opened the door for his rival fly-halves to gain some much-needed international experience this month. Jack Crowley is the first to be handed an opportunity to impress. The 23-year-old’s selection is reward for his fine form for Munster, which included United Rugby Championship glory in May. Uncapped Ciaran Frawley awaits his chance on the bench, with fellow Leinster player Ross Byrne – Sexton’s main understudy during the Six Nations – hoping for involvement against England and Samoa in the coming weeks. Forwards coach Paul O’Connell described game time for the rookie trio as a “real good silver lining” to Sexton’s undesirable situation.

Staking a claim

Ireland’s World Cup hopefuls have just three games to secure places on the plane to France, with Farrell due to cut his 42-man squad down to 33 on August 28. Only three men – Robbie Henshaw, Caelan Doris and Ryan Baird – have retained starting roles from Ireland’s Six Nations success over England in March in a much-changed matchday 23. Many of the others are on the periphery and fighting for a spot. Lock Joe McCarthy and prop Tom O’Toole will make their first and second Test starts respectively, while potential debutants Frawley, Calvin Nash and Tom Stewart are joined on the bench by Connacht rookies Cian Prendergast and Caolin Blade.

Rare start for Stockdale

Jacob Stockdale was player of the championship during Ireland’s 2018 Six Nations Grand Slam win and a guaranteed starter at the last World Cup. But his international career has very much hit the buffers. The 27-year-old is set to make his first Test appearance for more than two years and just his sixth start of the Farrell era. James Lowe has emerged as Ireland’s first choice on the left wing, yet Keith Earls, who wins his 99th cap this weekend, is the only current squad member to have scored more Ireland tries than Stockdale (19). Farrell believes the Ulster player is still capable of being a “tremendous asset”.

Maintaining momentum

Tadhg Beirne, who is among the replacements, this week pointed to poor warm-up performances contributing to Ireland’s underwhelming World Cup campaign in Japan four years ago. Farrell and members of his squad have repeatedly stressed the Italy fixture is far from a friendly as, in addition to individuals competing for places, they attempt to maintain collective momentum going into the tournament in France. Ireland are bidding for an 11th successive win and a 15th on the bounce at home to protect their number one world ranking. They have lost just one of 21 Aviva Stadium fixtures under Farrell – to France in 2021.

England-born pair switch allegiances

Azzurri head coach Kieran Crowley has made nine personnel changes from last weekend’s 25-13 Murrayfield loss to Scotland, including naming two debutants of interest to English rugby fans: Paolo Odogwu and Dino Lamb. Coventry-born Odogwu, a former Sale and Wasps player, trained with England during Eddie Jones’ tenure. The 26-year-old will line up on Italy’s right wing, while Harlequins’ ex-England Under-20 international Lamb has been picked in the second row having also switched allegiances. Crowley’s selection is strong as Italy go in search of a first success on Irish soil since 1997 to add to their recent scalps of Wales and Australia.

Marcus Smith is expected to be named in England’s World Cup squad after Steve Borthwick indicated he will take three fly-halves to the tournament.

While Smith starts Saturday’s opening Summer Nations Series match against Wales in Cardiff after being picked instead of Owen Farrell and George Ford, he was seen as the most likely of the three playmakers to miss out on selection for France 2023.

England took only two fly-halves to Japan four years ago but Borthwick, who names his 33-man World Cup on Monday, insists the technical nature of certain roles means the team cannot risk being exposed by circumstance.

“Right now I have got a pretty clear framework. In those key positions you need to have depth, three players who can play in that position,” Borthwick said.

“With the number of cards that are issued and HIAs, you need to have depth for those specialist positions.

“If someone does take a head knock you are looking at 12 days out potentially and could miss two Test matches.

“You need to be protected and have the right amount of depth in those specialist positions, which means positional flexibility is really important in your 33.”

Now destined to play in his first World Cup as part of England’s creative brains trust, Smith can approach Saturday’s first of four warm-up Tests unburdened by the need to convince Borthwick that he must be involved this autumn.

Farrell and Ford are more experienced and provide expert game management, but the 24-year-old Harlequins ringmaster offers the type of running threat that can turn a match on its head.

“I rate Marcus exceptionally highly. He has an incredible skill set and an ability to find space. He recognises when there are defenders that he can pick off,” Borthwick said.

“He can either pull them out of the line and put other people through space or find space himself.

“I’ve been hugely impressed with Marcus throughout this camp but also in all my interactions with him.

“He’s a young man who has already achieved a lot in the game, but he’s got even more exciting things to achieve in the future.”

Smith’s last start at fly-half came during a heavy defeat by France in the Six Nations, a tournament that saw him swap in and out of the role with Farrell. He was among a number of players to struggle that day – and he has not forgotten.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup)

“France was a long time ago now and I’ve played a lot of rugby since then,” Smith said.

“It was a tough afternoon and I have learnt a lot of lessons. It has definitely put me in a much better position as a person and on the field as well as a player.

“I would not say I want to rectify it, but I am a very competitive person…”

Danny Care joins Smith at half-back for the visit to the Welsh capital and with no players from Premiership finalists Saracens and Sale present in the starting XV, the side is littered with fringe World Cup contenders.

Ellis Genge captains the team but apart from Care it is an inexperienced line-up that sees fast-rising Northampton flanker Tom Pearson make his debut at openside, with Theo Dan and Tom Willis poised to win their first caps off the bench.

Borthwick and his coaching assistants will hold their final selection meeting on Saturday night before each player is told the following day whether they have made the cut.

“Out of the 33, the vast majority of those positions we are pretty firm on where we are. There is always a few that are written in pencil, as it were,” Borthwick said.

“The players are very clear about where they stand, where they are in the rankings of their position and what they need to do to earn their place in the 33.”

Borthwick’s squad were given a talk by England football coach Gareth Southgate during their World Cup training camp.

“Gareth’s got such a vast experience of tournaments as a player and in management. He shared that with the players,” Borthwick said.

“They enjoyed it, asked him plenty of questions and he was very generous in terms of his lessons and his experiences and things he’s picked up on in the journey.”

Andy Farrell insists squad depth will be key to Ireland achieving their dream of World Cup glory after handing opportunities to a number of fringe players for Saturday’s warm-up clash with Italy.

Munster’s Jack Crowley has been selected at fly-half in the absence of the suspended Johnny Sexton, with uncapped trio Ciaran Frawley, Tom Stewart and Calvin Nash among the replacements.

Just three players – centre Robbie Henshaw and back-rowers Caelan Doris and Ryan Baird – have been retained from the XV which began Ireland’s Grand Slam-clinching win over England back in March.

Ulster lock Iain Henderson will captain the side, lining up in the second row alongside Joe McCarthy, who will make his first international start, while wing Jacob Stockdale will play at Test level for the first time in two years.

Head coach Farrell, who is due to cut his 42-man squad down to a final 33 following further fixtures against England and Samoa, wants a full complement of players fit and firing moving towards the tournament in France but dismissed the notion he is experimenting.

“We’re at a stage where we’re all gagging for a game,” he said.

“And you are judging constantly how preparation’s going and trying to balance that out with a side that’s got the experience and youth.

“I’m 100 per cent sure there are some individuals that will take the field saying to themselves that ‘this a big chance and big opportunity for me’.

“You’ve got to surround those people with good enough experienced players as well to be able to judge them properly, so we’re looking forward to that.

“I wouldn’t say we’re experimenting.

“You win World Cups because of the strength of your squad so we’re trying to find out about people that have done so well to get picked in the initial 42 and now they’ve got the opportunity to represent the group.

“They know the expectation of how we want to play and what’s acceptable and what’s not.”

Sexton’s three-match ban has opened the door for rookie number 10s Crowley, Frawley and Ross Byrne to gain some much-needed Test experience during the next month.

In-form Crowley is the first to be handed an opportunity to impress, having starred during his province’s United Rugby Championship success at the end of last season.

“He has been excellent but how that transfers into a performance is different,” Farrell said of Crowley.

“He has been going great. I have seen his confidence grow, obviously from what happened with Munster, being able to help navigate his team through those difficult periods and get some success.

“The minute that selection comes, it’s a different week as far as managing the team and being the main general as far as Jack is concerned.

“We have been keeping a close eye on that and he has been excellent so far.”

Farrell was speaking publicly for the first time since Sexton, who has not played since the Guinness Six Nations due to injury, was hit with a three-match ban for misconduct.

“He’s been all systems go, right from the start,” the Englishman said of his 38-year-old skipper’s performances in training.

“He’s not missed a session, he’s not dropped out of anything. If there was a game two or three weeks ago, he was able to play, no doubt.

“Obviously he’s disappointed not to be able to play in these games but he’s in great form.”

Burgeoning Scotland scrum-half Ben White is determined to make a big impact in France for both club and country in the months ahead.

The 25-year-old is set to go to the upcoming World Cup as his nation’s first-choice number nine after starting each of the Six Nations matches earlier this year.

And following the global showpiece in France, he will join up with his new colleagues at Toulon after he signed for the Top 14 outfit last month following the recent financial demise of his previous club London Irish.

“It was a tough time and it’s very sad for a lot of the players and fans and people who have been at the club a long time,” said White, reflecting on his pre-World Cup change in circumstances at club level.

“I guess a lot of the players have been lucky but for the fans their club is gone so from that side of it, it’s very disappointing. But when one door closes, another one opens and to get the opportunity to go to Toulon is one I’ll be very grateful for.

“I want to hopefully have a good World Cup and a good run of games to go to Toulon and put my best foot forward and to play well for them.

“It’s kind of weird how it’s happened, to sign for a club and then not go there (immediately), but (Toulon director of rugby) Pierre Mignoni has messaged me a couple of times to check up on how things are going with me and it’s great to have that communication straight off the bat.

“I’ve been trying to do my French lessons in my downtime and it’s going ok. It’s an awesome opportunity and I’m really excited for it.

“The French absolutely love their rugby, the grounds will be absolutely rammed at the World Cup and the atmosphere they have at the stadiums is one of the things that drew me to Toulon. Getting the opportunity to play for Scotland out there, hopefully, will be amazing.”

White explained that he was always keen on the idea of playing abroad and he feels his move to France will bring out the best in him.

“The Top 14 is one of the best leagues in the world,” he said. “French nines over the years have been nines that have controlled the game and slightly different to England where the 10 would call a lot of things.

“In France, the nines call things and Pierre was a scrum-half so to have the opportunity to work with him was something that excited me. Having a fresh challenge abroad is going to be amazing for me.”

After being rested last weekend as an experimental Scotland side defeated Italy 25-13, White and the rest of Gregor Townsend’s big guns return to the starting XV for this Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match at home to France, just five weeks before the Scots’ first match at the tournament against holders South Africa in Marseille.

“It’s a really exciting period and if we can get a good result against France it gives you a lot of confidence going into the World Cup,” said White. “They’re a tough team with great players so it’s a really exciting challenge for us.

“I absolutely love every minute in a Scotland shirt. Running out at Murrayfield is probably one of the most special things I’ll ever do in my life so when you get the opportunity to do that, you want to make sure you play to the best of your ability.

“I’m very excited to be back doing it this weekend.”

Warren Gatland has backed Wales to do “something pretty special” at the World Cup in France.

Wales face England in their opening tournament warm-up game on Saturday after winning just two of the last 10 Tests.

A miserable Six Nations campaign produced a fifth-placed finish, while player contracts, financial issues throughout Welsh professional rugby and the threat of a players’ strike significantly compounded matters.

Wales have also dropped to ninth in World Rugby’s official rankings and seen talismanic figures like Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb all retire from international rugby since the end of last season.

Head coach Gatland, though, has delivered an upbeat message ahead of Wales’ preparation games against England home and away, plus South Africa, before a tough World Cup opener against Fiji in Bordeaux on September 10.

Asked if he relished Wales being written off, Gatland said: “Yeah. Continue to do it because it’s only going to make us stronger.

“I am really excited. I’m telling you this team will do something pretty special.

“I think if I look back on the Six Nations and all the things that were going on, I probably needed to let things unfold a bit and not be as direct or demanding as I might have normally been.

“The fact that things have settled down and a lot of new players have come in, the way that we’ve been so much more accountable for how we do things and demanding standards, that has been brilliant.

“As a group, we are in a good place. I promise you now, we will surprise some people.”

Wales’ training squad experienced punishing training camps in Switzerland and Turkey during the past month and Gatland will parade three news caps – Max Llewellyn, Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti – among a starting line-up captained for the first time by flanker Jac Morgan.

“I have got to say that I am incredibly impressed with this group of players in the last eight weeks,” Gatland added.

“They are in great shape physically. I couldn’t have asked for any more.

“They have been to the well and had to dig deep with everything we’ve put them through. They have been absolutely brilliant.

“We’ve had tough sessions, but come out the other side. The hardest thing is naming the 33 (final World Cup squad). There will be some real tough calls.”

Gatland, meanwhile, says he can see a likeness between 23-year-old Morgan and Sam Warburton, who was appointed Wales skipper ahead of World Cup in 2011 at the age of 22.

Other leadership candidates will also be assessed during the warm-up schedule, but Morgan has first opportunity to put down a marker.

“He is a fantastic individual and he is respected in the group. He has got a big future for Wales,” Gatland said.

“He doesn’t say a lot or talk a lot, a bit like Sam Warburton. He does his talking out there and leads by example.

“We went to Turkey last week and took a referee out there with us to do some live stuff.

“One of the comments from him (referee) was that some of the interaction from Jac was really impressive. He was asking good, positive questions and that was probably an indication that we had made the right call.”

Gatland, meanwhile, has also hailed full-back Leigh Halfpenny, who will become the ninth player to win 100 Wales caps when he runs out against England.

“He will be leading the side out,” Gatland added. “He is driven and he is a role model for everyone coming through who looks up to him.

“If you are talking about role models as a professional, you could not get a harder worker than Leigh Halfpenny in terms of how he prepares.

“The analysis, training and recovery. He is the ultimate professional.”

Jack Crowley has been given the chance to stake his claim for Ireland’s fly-half role ahead of the World Cup after being selected to start Saturday’s Dublin clash with Italy.

The in-form 23-year-old is preferred to Ross Byrne and the uncapped Ciaran Frawley in the absence of suspended captain Johnny Sexton.

Crowley, who helped Munster win the United Rugby Championship in May, will be partnered by provincial team-mate Craig Casey in the half-back positions on the occasion of his fourth cap.

Frawley joins fellow potential debutants Tom Stewart and Calvin Nash among the replacements.

Head coach Andy Farrell has named an experimental XV for the first of the Six Nations champions’ three warm-up matches, with lock Iain Henderson taking on captaincy duties from Sexton.

Ulster’s Jacob Stockdale will end his two-year wait for an international appearance with an opportunity on the left wing, while veteran Keith Earls wins his first cap since last summer’s series success in New Zealand on the right.

Centre Robbie Henshaw and back-rowers Caelan Doris and Ryan Baird are the only players retained from the XV which began Ireland’s Grand Slam-clinching win over England in March.

The matchday squad is peppered with fringe players hoping to force their way into Farrell’s final 33-man selection for France.

Lock Joe McCarthy makes his first international start, joining Henderson in the second row, with prop Dave Kilcoyne packing down alongside Ulster pair Rob Herring and Tom O’Toole.

Jack Conan will begin at number eight for only the third time since the 2022 Six Nations, in between fellow Leinster men Doris and Baird.

Stuart McCloskey has been picked at inside centre, with Jimmy O’Brien selected at full-back as he seeks to provide competition for undisputed first choice Hugo Keenan.

Sexton, who will also miss the upcoming games against England and Samoa, was the sole member of Ireland’s 42-man squad unavailable for the Aviva Stadium encounter.

Crowley’s only previous start came in last autumn’s win over Australia when he stepped in at the 11th hour following the late withdrawal of Ireland’s 38-year-old skipper.

Byrne was the favoured deputy to Leinster team-mate Sexton during the Six Nations but must wait for his first action of the summer.

Experienced props Cian Healy and Tadhg Furlong, Munster lock Tadhg Beirne and rookie Connacht pair Cian Prendergast and Caolin Blade complete the bench.

Marcus Smith has been given the opportunity to play his way into England’s World Cup squad after being picked at fly-half for Saturday’s clash with Wales in Cardiff.

Smith is preferred for the first of four Summer Nations Series matches ahead of Owen Farrell and George Ford, both of whom started the Gallagher Premiership final on May 27.

Steve Borthwick names his World Cup squad on Monday and, with Smith thought to be behind Farrell and Ford in the pecking order, he has the platform at the Principality Stadium to convince his head coach that a third fly-half should be taken to France.

Danny Care joins the 24-year-old at half-back and the side is littered with fringe contenders for the final 33-man group – with no players from Premiership finalists Saracens and Sale present in the starting XV.

Ellis Genge captains the team but, apart from Care, it is an inexperienced line-up that sees fast-rising Northampton flanker Tom Pearson make his debut at openside.

Danny Care has unfinished business with the World Cup but refuses to hold back during England’s warm-up games even if it means repeating one of his career’s most crushing disappointments.

Care was considered first choice scrum-half heading into the 2011 tournament only to sustain a serious foot injury against Wales in Cardiff during the build-up, preventing him from playing any part.

The Harlequins half-back had already paid for his parents to travel to New Zealand in anticipation of his involvement and while they watched England reach the quarter-finals, he remained at home on crutches.

Four years later, he had slipped down the pecking order and was confined to a single match against Uruguay, and when 2019 arrived he was among the victims of Eddie Jones’ leftfield approach to scrum-half selection.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Danny Care (@dannycare9)

France this autumn offers a final chance for the 36-year-old to realise his World Cup dream, but first England must revisit the setting for his misfortune of 2011 when they face Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

“I’m desperate to try and play more World Cup games, try and win some more games for England,” Care said.

“It will be a dream come true to get on that plane and hopefully I’ve done enough to get on the plane.

“I got named in the squad in 2011, played a warm-up game and ended up missing the tournament. Touch wood that doesn’t happen again, but it is rugby, it happens.

“One thing you can’t do going onto a rugby field is think about staying fit and no one will be doing that.

“It is the nature of the beast – you’re not playing tiddlywinks. It’s a tough old sport and you can get injured at any point, in any training session.

“It’s the way it is, there is a bit of luck involved sometimes. You try and not think about it, just crack on and put your head 100 per cent into everything and then hope for the best.

“Everyone will be flying in to win Test matches. We are going to try to win games and the best way to be prepared for France is to go and win some Test matches.”

Gregor Townsend is confident Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie will recover from injury in time for next weekend’s World Cup warm-up match away to France after sitting out this Saturday’s Test against Les Bleus at Murrayfield.

The Edinburgh flanker has sustained a minor calf strain and will play no part in this weekend’s match in Edinburgh, with stand-off Finn Russell handed the skipper’s armband in his absence.

However, Townsend is optimistic that Ritchie will be back in contention for the rematch against the French in Saint-Etienne the following Saturday.

“I would hope he will be back next week,” said the head coach. “He’s confident he will be back in full training next week.

“It was a calf strain that has required more time off. He got a scan on Tuesday just to make sure there was no more damage done, and it was felt that this week there was no need to push the injury.

“He’s confident he will be running by the weekend and back to full training next week.”

Talismanic stand-off Russell – who will join Bath from Racing 92 after the World Cup – will lead the national team for the first time, less than 10 months after being omitted from the initial squad for the autumn series.

Asked what has changed in the intervening period for the 30-year-old to go from outsider to leader, Townsend said: “Finn has played really well since he got back into the squad.

“He has always been a leader for us in terms of attack. He is older, has more experience and an opportunity has opened up where he’s the right man to lead us this week.

“It’s the right time to give him that opportunity, and it will be interesting to see how he goes. Being vice captain and our most important attack leader gives him a real confidence and I’m hoping that being captain gives him confidence too.

“The players that do most of the talking on the field are your 10, your captain and maybe one other player. Finn has certainly done that for us over the last couple of years.”

Townsend believes Russell is in his prime.

“He’s in really good physical shape and was when he came back in last November and during the Six Nations too,” he said.

“He’s hitting that sweet spot where, after playing the game for 10 years in that one position and playing against some of the best teams around, he has an understanding of where space might open up.

“If you’ve got that physical side right too, you can exploit those opportunities. That’s what he is doing. He’s really motivated about playing for Scotland and playing club rugby for the next few years.

“If you can get that mix for the next two or three years, and it’s important to note he is improving all the time, you’ve got one of the best players in the world in that position with us, which is great.”

Townsend has made 13 changes to his starting XV for this weekend’s clash with the French, restoring the majority of his big-hitters after fielding a largely experimental side for last Saturday’s win over Italy.

Ritchie and hooker George Turner are the only notable absentees from the starting line-up, with Ewan Ashman – capped seven times – the least established international in the line-up.

Townsend is hoping Scotland can show over the next two games that they have built on a strong performance in their 32-21 Six Nations defeat by France in Paris in February when they roared back from 19-0 down and threatened to pull off a famous victory.

“We want to show we are a better team than that day,” said Townsend. “I feel that what the players are showing in training is at a lot higher level than what we produced in the Six Nations. That gives us a lot of encouragement and excitement.

“We did play well and the character in the team was outstanding, but we didn’t finish off nearly enough opportunities to win the game. Three times we were over the try-line and didn’t score, and there were another four times where great creative play didn’t get rewarded.

“It’s great that France have committed to home and away fixtures like they did last time. It suits us that we were able to mix up our team last week and we now have two very tough Test matches home and away.”

Jac Morgan will captain Wales on Saturday in what is effectively the first of three World Cup leadership auditions.

The 23-year-old Ospreys flanker takes charge for Wales’ opening tournament warm-up game against England in Cardiff.

Wales then go to Twickenham seven days later before hosting reigning world champions South Africa – and there is likely to be a different skipper each time as head coach Warren Gatland considers his options.

Hooker Dewi Lake, fly-half Dan Biggar, plus locks Adam Beard and Will Rowlands are also among realistic captaincy candidates.

Should Morgan or 24-year-old hooker Lake be handed the World Cup reins, it would echo Gatland appointing Sam Warburton as skipper for the 2011 tournament, when he was just 22.

“We’ve named Jac as captain for this match, and it is a great honour for him to be leading his country,” Gatland said.

“We will be looking at probably having a different captain for each of the matches as we give as many as possible in the squad an opportunity to impress, but also mindful about potential combinations as we get closer to naming the World Cup squad.”

Gatland is set to name his final 33-strong World Cup squad later this month, and there are early chances in the spotlight for an uncapped trio of Max Llewellyn, Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti, who all start against England.

And former England prop Henry Thomas, who qualifies for Wales through his father and has been able to switch countries under new World Rugby regulations, is among the replacements along with fellow uncapped forward Taine Plumtree.

Since the start of last year, players can switch to their country of birth – or their parents’ or grandparents’ birth – provided a minimum period of three years has elapsed since they were last selected for an adopted country.

Thomas, who won the last of his seven England caps against New Zealand in 2014, follows players like Jean Kleyn (Ireland to South Africa), Charles Piutau (New Zealand to Tonga) and Byron McGuigan (Scotland in Namibia).

Full-back Leigh Halfpenny, meanwhile, will win his 100th cap as Wales step up their World Cup preparations after tough training camps in Switzerland and Turkey.

Gatland added: “I have been really pleased with the players’ effort and commitment in Turkey, Switzerland and the mini camps in Wales, but now it is about putting what we’ve been training into practice.

“There is some great competition among the squad in all positions, and we’ve selected a team this week with a few debutants because we want to give them the opportunity to see what they can do.

“There is a lot to play for over the next three matches, and everyone is still in contention to make that final squad for France.”

Centre Llewellyn, who is the son of former Wales lock Gareth Llewellyn, will partner George North in midfield, with Cardiff props Domachowski and Assiratti also gaining immediate chances to shine.

Swansea-born Plumtree, meanwhile, goes straight into the matchday 23 after linking up with the Wales squad ahead of last month’s trip to Switzerland.

He has played Super Rugby in New Zealand and will be part of the Scarlets set-up next season.

For Halfpenny, Saturday’s game sees him reach three figures almost 15 years after he made his Wales debut as a teenager against South Africa.

He will become the ninth Wales player to clock up a century, and only the fifth back, joining North, Biggar, Stephen Jones and Gareth Thomas.

Gatland said: “I would like to make a special mention for Leigh Halfpenny, who will win his 100th cap for Wales on Saturday.

“Reaching this milestone is an incredible achievement and testament to the player and person Leigh is. I know it will be a very special day for him and all his family.”

Dylan Hartley has urged England to install Owen Farrell at fly-half for the entire World Cup and its build up in the belief it will provide reassurance to the team.

Farrell is competing with George Ford and Marcus Smith for the role of chief conductor with the alternative option to pick him at inside centre, operating alongside one of his rivals for the number 10 jersey.

Head coach Steve Borthwick used both Farrell and Smith in the position during the Six Nations, while Ford is back in contention having fallen out of favour under Eddie Jones.

Hartley, who led England to the 2016 Grand Slam, insists his successor as red rose captain should start the Summer Nations Series opener against Wales on Saturday and then be retained, to send out a message.

“I would love for Owen to play at 10 and for Steve Borthwick to make his mind up and go with him for all these opening games,” Hartley told the PA news agency.

“The team ticks when there is certainty and I love the conviction of seeing Owen at 10. If he’s at 10 then it frees up Ollie Lawrence or Manu Tuilagi, or whatever combination there is outside him.

“As the leader, heartbeat of the side and world class player when given the reins, Owen is integral to how England will perform.

“He’s not just the fly-half and goalkicker, he’s everything to that squad. He’s not a young kid any more, he’s a battle-hardened warrior.

“He’s still matching where he needs to be physically, it’s not like they’re carrying him just for his experience, whereas you’d probably argue I was just there for experience and captaincy instead of performance.

“In that regard you hit a tipping point and my tipping point came pre-30-years-old. Owen ticks all the boxes for me.”

Borthwick has four Tests – Wales’ visit to Twickenham and clashes with Ireland and Fiji complete the schedule – to fine tune England ahead of their seismic opener against Argentina on September 9.

The Principality showdown is the only match to take place before Borthwick names his 33-man World Cup squad on Monday with the management team holding their final selection meeting on Saturday night.

Hartley, who is now exploring coaching consultancy roles, having retired in 2019, believes it is crucial England use the Tests to stitch together a winning run.

“You want to roll these games into the World Cup and win them all. You don’t want to experiment and I’d like to see conviction from the off. Don’t mess around and pick the team you would for a World Cup final,” the former Northampton hooker said.

“Pick a team against Wales to win, not to work on combinations. If you experiment with a player you might learn more about him, but you get more from a winning team. You go through the gears easier when you’re winning.

“Uncertainty can keep environments competitive and honest, but you also need a little bit of comfort.

“Injuries will come, but deal with those retrospectively and go win the games which will build momentum and confidence.”

Rugby is going through a challenging period amid concerns over concussion, its laws, finances and playing numbers, but Hartley believes the coming weeks in France will provide a much-needed lift.

“The game has taken bit of a shoeing but the best of rugby is displayed at rugby World Cups, so it’s timely,” the 97-cap front row said.

“You have the underdog stories – the teams you never get to see like Portugal and Chile – that emerge and are hugely positive.

“The game is in a tough place but with the quality of teams and calibre of athlete we’ll see at the World Cup, it will be a great advertisement for the game and we can stop talking about the negative stuff.”

:: All 15 Summer Nations Series matches are available exclusively on Prime Video in the UK.

Finn Russell will captain Scotland in this Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match against France – less than 10 months after Gregor Townsend left the fly-half out of his initial squad for the autumn series.

The 30-year-old will lead the team in the absence of Jamie Ritchie, who misses out with a minor niggle. Scotland medical staff hope the regular skipper will be fit to return for the rematch with France in St Etienne the following Saturday.

Head coach Townsend has restored most of his senior players, making 13 changes to his starting XV, after a largely experimental side defeated Italy last weekend.

Darcy Graham and Matt Fagerson are the only two to retain their places from the win over the Azzurri, while hooker Ewan Ashman – with just seven caps to date – is the least-established player in the XV to face the World Cup hosts.

Ritchie and George Turner – who played against Italy – are the only notable absentees from the starting XV.

Versatile Edinburgh back Blair Kinghorn has been given a chance to establish himself as the first-choice number 15 following the recent retirement of Stuart Hogg.

Russell being handed the captaincy marks a significant turnaround in fortunes for a player whose international future looked in serious jeopardy just under a year ago after he was a surprise omission from the autumn series squad, with Townsend citing concerns about his form and consistency levels.

However, following an injury to Adam Hastings that left him short of dependable options at stand-off, Townsend held clear-the-air talks with Russell and recalled him for the third of the four autumn Tests at home to New Zealand.

The number 10 – who has moved to Bath from Racing 92 this summer – shone against the All Blacks and Argentina last November and continued to flourish in the Six Nations, rediscovering the faith of Townsend who has rewarded him with the honour of leading the team this weekend, just five weeks out from their opening World Cup match against South Africa in Marseille.

Tadhg Beirne admits the scars of the last World Cup took a long time to heal and insists Ireland will do everything possible to avoid making the same mistakes.

Andy Farrell’s side go into the tournament in France at the top of the world rankings and buoyed by clinching a Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam on the back of a historic tour success in New Zealand.

Ireland were buzzing with similar belief under Joe Schmidt in 2019 before suffering an emphatic quarter-final exit to the All Blacks following a shock pool-stage loss to hosts Japan.

Munster lock Beirne believes the tone for that forgettable campaign was set during an underwhelming build-up, which included a record drubbing by England, and is determined to help prevent a repeat outcome as he prepares for Saturday’s warm-up clash with Italy.

“It was really disappointing to be honest, we had such expectations of ourselves and we probably felt like we didn’t fire on all cylinders,” he said of the 2019 tournament.

“Overall, just disappointment from the get-go.

“Even when you talk about warm-ups we didn’t particularly play well in them, did we? And that fed into the World Cup in terms of our performances over there.

“I think afterwards it took a long, long time to get over it so I’m certainly hoping that’s not the case this year and we’ll be doing everything we can to change that.”

Ireland begin the World Cup on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux.

After hosting Italy, preparations continue when England visit the Aviva Stadium a fortnight later before a fixture against Samoa in Bayonne the following weekend provides a final chance for fine-tuning.

Beirne says the three upcoming matches are far from friendlies and acknowledges that any player not up to scratch is at risk of being dropped when head coach Farrell cuts his squad from 42 to 33 at the end of the month.

“You can certainly lose your spot in a World Cup squad if you don’t play well,” said the British and Irish Lion, who was restricted to a peripheral role for his country in Japan in 2019.

“As a squad we have a record at home that we are proud of at the moment, we are playing a certain type of rugby that we want to continue doing.

“We are looking at it very much as we would a Six Nations game or a November international game.

“It’s a Test match we want to win and we are going out there to prove a point, 100 per cent.”

Mike Phillips has urged Wales to inspire their fans at what he considers the most important World Cup in the nation’s rugby history.

The Welsh game has spent 2023 in crisis off the field due to a sexism and misogyny scandal at the Welsh Rugby Union and in dire straits on it, with Warren Gatland struggling to transform the team’s fortunes during his second spell in charge.

Wales, World Cup semi-finalists in Japan four years ago, have fallen to ninth in the global rankings, with supporters expecting Gatland’s side to make a major impact at the tournament in France next month very much in the minority.

“It’s more important this time,” former scrum-half Phillips said of Wales’ forthcoming World Cup campaign.

“The public needs it. It seems that it has just been a constant negative about Welsh rugby over the last 18 months. The public needs some inspiration.

“We all want to support success, just as with the football team reaching the World Cup.

“The Welsh people want to be inspired and there’s nothing like the national team to galvanise the game, all the way down to the grassroots.

“It would be nice to have people excited about what’s happening on the pitch.”

Wales play two warm-up games against England – the first in Cardiff on Saturday – and another at home to South Africa before embarking on their World Cup adventure.

British and Irish Lions trio Alun Wyn Jones – Test rugby’s most capped player – Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb have all left the international scene in recent months and there will be several new faces in France.

“There’s no pressure on these players but my only concern is that they’re not winning often, either for club or country,” said Phillips, who won 94 caps for Wales and another five for the Lions.

“Winning in sport is tough, it doesn’t just happen. Sometimes you need to grind it out. A few years ago that’s what they were doing.

“Gatland will have them fit but the game has moved on from when he was first in charge. There’s far more kicking now so the tactics need to be spot on, strong defence and discipline is key because games turn on a moment.

“You can’t keep picking the same guys forever. Ideally you would have a core group with 30 or 40 caps but we seem to have players either with lots or none.”

Phillips starred as Wales reached the last four of the 2011 World Cup, losing agonisingly 9-8 to France after skipper Sam Warburton had been sent off in the opening quarter.

He said: “The youngsters have to learn to become leaders, that’s how they will grow. Perhaps it’s good to throw them in the deep end.

“It feels similar to 2011 when Wales brought in a load of new young players like George North, Jonathan Davies, Rhys Priestland, Taulupe Faletau and Sam Warburton.

“They came back from the World Cup experience and won a Grand Slam, another title, and all went with the Lions in 2013.

“We may not know a lot about these lads now but they can be household names by the time they return.”

Wales meet Fiji – who famously knocked them out the last time the World Cup was held in France 16 years ago – in a crunch Bordeaux opener on September 10 before further group games against Portugal, Australia and Georgia.

England or Argentina are potential quarter-final opponents.

“Fiji is a monumental game,” said Phillips. “Getting that first win gives you momentum and takes a bit of pressure off.

“But Fiji are very physical and athletically they are absolute monsters. They are strong and powerful and seem to have a more tactical game now with their driving maul.

“Their scrum is pretty solid, they play in that Super competition (Super Rugby Pacific franchise Fijian Drua provided 19 of the most recent national squad), and they are going to be tough to break down.”

:: Mike Phillips was speaking at S4C’s 2023 Rugby World Cup launch.

Ospreys flanker Jac Morgan will captain Wales in Saturday’s opening World Cup warm-up clash against England at the Principality Stadium.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has yet to announce his World Cup skipper, though, and says each of the preparation games against England home and away, plus South Africa in Cardiff, could have a different player at the helm.

Centre Max Llewellyn, plus props Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti will make their Test debuts on Saturday.

And former England prop Henry Thomas, who qualifies for Wales through his father and has been able to switch countries under new World Rugby regulations, is among the replacements along with fellow uncapped forward Taine Plumtree.

Full-back Leigh Halfpenny, meanwhile, will win his 100th cap as Wales step up their World Cup preparations.