As expected, Newport Gwent Dragons No.8 Toby Faletau makes his debut as does prop Ryan Bevington as part of an all-Ospreys front row.

Fly-half Stephen Jones will become Wales’ joint leading appearance holder when he wins his 100^th cap but even that landmark is likely to be overshadowed by Henson’s involvement.

His last Wales match came in the 2009 RBS 6 Nations against Ireland and Gatland threw the gauntlet down to his controversial star to rediscover the form that has made him a double Grand Slam winner.

He said:  “It’s an opportunity for players like Gavin (Henson) to do his talking on the rugby pitch. We have Andrew Bishop, Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies and now Scott Williams, but we need depth and hopefully Gavin does well and he puts some pressure on the established guys.

“He tells us it’s fantastic to be back in this environment, that he has really missed it and is loving his rugby at the moment and that’s a real positive for us, he knows he just needs to let his rugby do the talking now.

“We have tried to get the right mixture of youth and experience in there and I’d like to think the likes of Ryan Bevington and Toby Faletau will look at this and think ‘this is a good chance for me’.

“It’s a psychological challenge  that  we need to be prepared for, there is a lot at stake for all of us and for the players in particular in terms of us assessing their character and them booking their places on that plane for the Rugby World Cup.

WALES:Morgan Stoddart; George North, Jonathan Davies, Gavin Henson, Aled Brew; Stephen Jones, Mike Phillips; Ryan Bevington, Huw Bennett, Paul James, Ryan Jones,  Luke Charteris, Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton (Captain), Toby Faletau

REPLACEMENTS:Lloyd Burns, Scott Andrews, Alun Wyn Jones, Josh Turnbull, Tavis Knoyle, Rhys Priestland, Scott Williams.