Dwayne Peel makes his first start of the Six Nations against Italy © Getty Images

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Matches: Wales 47 - 8 Italy

Players/Officials: Tom Shanklin

Stephen Jones and Dwayne Peel will start in the half-backs against Italy a week on Saturday after Wales head coach Warren Gatland made six changes to the side that beat Scotland. Gatland has also named a whole new front row, with Gethin Jenkins, Rhys Thomas and hooker Matthew Rees given their first starts of this year's RBS 6 Nations Championship.

The other change is on the wing where Mark Jones, who was dropped following the win over England at Twickenham, returns in place of weekend debutant Jamie Roberts. Gatland had promised changes following the 30-15 victory and he has taken the unusual step of announcing his line-up 11 days before the game to ensure maximum preparation time.

''We've made six changes but are in the enviable position of being able to do so without weakening our line-up,'' said Gatland, who has brought in players boasting a total of 239 caps between them. Players have put their hands up with performances from the bench and in Stephen, Dwayne, Mark and Gethin we are a bringing a wealth of experience and talent into the side. Italy are tough opposition and have been progressing well under a new coach in Nick Mallett.

''They gave England a scare last week and they always rise to the occasion and pick up a result somewhere in the Six Nations and we need to be on our guard." Jones and Peel have been rewarded for their performances off the bench at the weekend, when they came on with 20 minutes remaining and guided Wales to victory.

As a result, James Hook and Mike Phillips have been included among the replacements, alongside hooker Huw Bennett and prop Duncan Jones who also started against Scotland. Gatland has taken the bold step of changing his entire front row against an Azzurri side renowned for their forward power. But the rest of the pack remain unchanged after Alun-Wyn Jones failed to recover from the ankle injury which kept him out of the Scotland game.

In the backs, Tom Shanklin will become the 20th Welsh player to win 50 caps and will continue his midfield partnership with Gavin Henson. ''Gavin and Tom are going well and developing an interesting partnership and both Shane Williams and Lee Byrne can be proud of the contributions they have made to our campaign so far,'' Gatland added.

''We thought Jamie Roberts had a big, strong and impressive debut in a Wales shirt against Scotland, we have recalled Mark Jones to offer us some extra pace and experience out wide.''

Wales' opening victories over England and Scotland has set up a shot at the Triple Crown, when they travel to Ireland in a month's time. But before then, they must see off Italy at the Millennium Stadium and the last time Wales won three matches on the bounce was nearly three years ago, at the end of the 2005 Grand Slam season.

''All talk of Triple Crowns or even Championships needs to be put on hold, we've won two games in a row and it's our mission now to win three,'' added Gatland. ''The Ireland game will be a defining moment for our season, but we need to be travelling to Dublin with a good win against Italy under our belts.''

Italy coach Nick Mallett has been forced to make several changes to his team to face Wales in their Cardiff encounter. The Azzurri, who travel to the Welsh capital looking for their first victory after narrow defeats to Ireland and England, have brought in Andrea Marcato in place of the injured David Bortolussi.

Italy coach Nick Mallett has defended his decision to choose Marcato as a replacement for injured full-back who is struggling with a shoulder injury. The Montpellier player, who started against Ireland and England, is unavailable for Saturday's RBS 6 Nations game against Wales in Cardiff after suffering a shoulder injury during training with his French club.

Mallett had been expected to select Andrea Masi to replace Bortolussi, who may be sidelined for the remainder of the Six Nations, but decided to turn to the inexperienced Marcato, who has just four international caps.

Mallett said: ''I know very well that Masi was groomed as a centre and Marcato as fly-half, and that for many it would be obvious to revert to the roles they have in the national team from now until the end of the tournament. But for me it's crucial to continue to develop Masi at fly-half, because I believe he has the capacity and it would be a mistake to stop his learning process.

''I believe Marcato is a player of the same level as David and I have asked the same things as I asked Masi - to give his best in a role that he is not used to for the good of the national team.''

Mallett has decided to drop Andrea Lo Cicero and hand prop Salvatore Perugini his 50th cap with lock Santiago Dellape and centre Mirco Bergamasco also set to make a half-century of appearances. Scrum-half Simon Picone has been rewarded for his solid performance against England and will start against Wales ahead of Pietro Travagli.

Picone came off the bench in Italy's 23-19 defeat against England to score his team's only try in the game. ''When I took over the role of national coach, I considered Picone as the right replacement for retired Alessandro Troncon,'' Mallett said. ''But in the first two games Picone wasn't at his best form and hence I opted to play with Travagli.

''I am still happy with what Travagli has done but against Wales it will be Simon to start but we will need both during the game.''

Gloucester lock Marco Bortolami has returned to the team after recovering from an eye problem, however a neck injury could prevent him from taking his place on the replacements' bench. ''I hope Bortolami is able to go on the bench,'' Mallett said. ''He has a neck problem.''

Mallett is aware of the challenge his team face against unbeaten Wales as they aim to clinch their first win of the 2008 tournament. ''It's going to be an interesting game,'' he said. ''I'm curious to see how we will defend against a team that plays much more of an open game than Ireland and England used against us.''

Wales: L Byrne (Ospreys); M Jones (Llanelli Scarlets), T Shanklin (Cardiff Blues), G Henson (Ospreys), S Williams (Ospreys); S Jones (Llanelli Scarlets), D Peel (Llanelli Scarlets); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), M Rees (Llanelli Scarlets), R Thomas (Newport Gwent Dragons), I Gough (Ospreys), I Evans (Ospreys), J Thomas (Ospreys), M Williams (Cardiff Blues), R Jones (Ospreys, capt).

Replacements: H Bennett (Ospreys), Duncan Jones (Ospreys), Deiniol Jones (Cardiff Blues), G Delve (Gloucester), M Phillips (Ospreys), J Hook (Ospreys), S Parker (Ospreys).

Italy: Marcato (Treviso); A Sgarbi (Treviso), G Canale (Clermont-Auvergne), Mirco Bergamasco (Stade Francais), E Galon (Overmach Parma); A Masi (Biarritz), S Picone (Treviso); S Perugini (Toulouse), L Ghiraldini (Calvisano), M Castrogiovanni (Leicester), S Dellape' (Biarritz), CA del Fava (Ulster), J Sole (Viadana), Mauro Bergamasco (Stade Francais), S Parisse (Stade Francais).

Replacements: C Festuccia (Racing-Metro), A lo Cicero (Racing-Metro), M Bortolami (Gloucester), A Zanni (Calvisano), Pietro Travagli (Overmarch Parma), P Buso (Calvisano), E Patrizio (Petrarca Padova).