WALES boss Warren Gatland has resisted the temptation to rest key man Taulupe Faletau for Saturday’s warm-up Test with Italy – taking the Newport Gwent Dragons back rower's streak of Tests to 19.

The 24-year-old is the only specialist number eight in Wales’ 31-strong World Cup squad but lines up against the Azzurri (kick-off 5pm).

The last international clash that he missed was against his native Tonga in the autumn of 2013 and he had played every minute until being a second-half replacement against Ireland last month.

He will win his 48th cap against Italy in Cardiff and is likely to bring up his half-century against England at Twickenham later this month.

Dragons teammate Hallam Amos sits out the Italy encounter after featuring in both August encounters with Six Nations champions Ireland with Gatland plumping for Alex Cuthbert alongside George North and Leigh Halfpenny in the back three.

Sam Warburton returns from a shoulder bump to captain the side from openside flanker while back row forward Ross Moriarty and hooker Kirstian Dacey are named on the bench despite missing out on World Cup selection.

Gatland opts for his first choice units in the front row and at half-back as the building continues to the World Cup opener against Uruguay on Sunday, September 20.

“With our opening Rugby World Cup fixture just two weeks away, this weekend is important run-out and opportunity for fine tuning,” said head coach Gatland.

“We were happy with the performance away from home in Ireland last weekend, but there are plenty of things we need to work on from that victory so we will be looking to put those in place on Saturday.

“We’ve made a couple of changes to try a few new combinations and ensure players get some more game time under their belts.”

WALES TEAM TO PLAY ITALY: Leigh Halfpenny (Toulon), Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), Cory Allen (Cardiff Blues), Scott Williams (Scarlets), George North (Northampton), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Dominic Day (Bath), James King (Ospreys), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues) (Capt), Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons).

Replacements: Kristian Dacey (Cardiff Blues), Paul James (Ospreys), Aaron Jarvis (Ospreys), Luke Charteris (Racing Metro), Ross Moriarty (Gloucester), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Rhys Priestland (Bath), Matthew Morgan (Bristol).