LATEST: Canada have replaced centre John Cannon with Nikyta Witkowski.
Veteran Welsh second row David Llewellyn admits the pressure is on Wales to open the Rugby World Cup 2003 with a win over Canada in Pool D at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne on Sunday 12 October.
The Welsh hold a 8-1 advantage in the head to head contest, the most recent result a 33-24 win to Wales at the Millennium Stadium on 16 November 2002. Canada’s only win a 26-24 result at Cardiff Arms Park on 10 November 1993.
Llewellyn will celebrate 80 test caps on Sunday and says the game is a must win for Wales who are favoured to progress to the knockout phase ahead of Canada, Italy and Tonga.
"If we lose then it's going to be a very tough job, but we are not even thinking of losing," Llewellyn says. “We've picked a pack of forwards to get stuck in. If we don't get to the quarter-finals, it will be a failure.”
Canadian skipper Al Charron is fit after beating a severe knee injury to play in the Tournament. Charron is the only player in the Welsh squad to have experience against Canada.
Manager David Clark is positive going into the match.
“We've picked form players, who have recently demonstrated their prowess," he said. “These are players who will play uncompromising rugby and have been chosen for their toughness and perseverance.
"The mix of these qualities will hopefully give us more points on the board than our opponents."
Teams
Canada: 1 Rod Snow, 2 Mark Lawson, 3 Jon Thiel, 4 Colin Yukes, 5 Mike James, 6 Al Charron (C), 7 Adam van Staveren, 8 Josh Jackson, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Bob Ross, 11 Winston Stanley, 12 Marco Di Girolamo, 13 Nikyta Witkowski, 14 David Lougheed, 15 James Pritchard Replacements: 16 Aaron Abrams, 17 Kevin Tkachuk, 18 Garth Cooke, 19 Jamie Cudmore, 20 Ryan Banks, 21 Ed Fairhurst, 22 Ryan Smith
Wales: 15 K Morgan, 14 G Thomas, 13 S Parker, 12 I Harris, 11 M Jones; 10 C Sweeney, 9 G Cooper; 8 C Charvis (captain)1, 7 M Williams, 6 D Jones, 5 G Llewellyn, 4 B Cockbain, 3 G Jenkins, 2 D Jones, 1 D Jones Replacements: H Bennett, A Jones, R Sidoli, J Thomas, D Peel, M Taylor and R Williams.
Chris White of England is the referee, touch judges are André Watson of South Africa and Alan Lewis of Ireland. The referees Assessor is Douglas Kerr of Scotland and the Television Match Official is Joël Dumé of France.
The game kicks off at 18:00 local time at Telstra Dome in Melbourne.
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