WALES boss Warren Gatland says the physical presence of powerhouse wing George North earned the nod in midfield for the crunch World Cup clash with Australia – but hailed Newport Gwent Dragons prospect Tyler Morgan as a star of the future.

Morgan won his second cap as a starter in last week’s 23-13 win against Fiji at the Millennium Stadium but the 20-year-old misses out on the matchday squad for Saturday’s date with the Wallabies at Twickenham.

Gatland has instead paired North with Jamie Roberts and brought Liam Williams in on the left wing with Gareth Anscombe at full-back.

The Roberts-North combination was first used against France in the 2014 Six Nations and was repeated in the 33-28 loss to the Aussies last autumn.

“It gives us that footwork and physical presence in midfield. I think eventually that’s where George will end up as gets older,” said Gatland.

“He’s trained well there and looks sharp while it’s a chance to get Liam back in on the left wing and we’ve continued to work with Alex Cuthbert because even though he hasn’t been playing as well as he’d have liked, giving him confidence and belief will hopefully get him back to form.”

Morgan, from Caerleon, made his Test debut in the warm-up Test against Ireland in Cardiff but didn’t make the initial cut for the World Cup.

He was called up when Cory Allen suffered a hamstring injury against Uruguay and got his starting chance against the Flying Fijians after Scott Williams suffered a knee injury against England.

Morgan is on a national dual contract but has just 23 Dragons appearances to his name, leading Wales to plump for big-match experience against the classy Wallabies back line despite Gatland being pleased with the youngest member of his squad.

He said: “We were happy with Tyler last week. Rob spoke to him and told him that he had learned a huge amount from the Fiji game. He’s one for the future definitely.

“He also had a bit of a tight hamstring and that probably swayed our decision. We wanted a full back-line from the start that had opportunity to train all week and to throw something a little bit different at Australia. I’m excited about the back line.”

Gatland makes six changes to the side that beat Fiji with Anscombe and Williams coming into the back three, props Paul James and Samson Lee getting the nod in the front row, Luke Charteris starting at lock and Justin Tipuric the openside.

The management have taken a no-risk policy with blindside Dan Lydiate because of a cheekbone injury – he could have played – while loosehead Gethin Jenkins is kept fresh for the quarter-finals after a heavy workload so far.

Wales have suffered 10 losses on the spin to the Wallabies and it remains a crucial encounter regardless of quarter-final qualification being assured – the victors avoid a clash with resurgent South Africa and a potential semi-final with New Zealand.

“We are desperate to win this game as win this grip as road through is a little easier than other side of the draw,” admitted Gatland. “We’re desperate to win and get a second seed team in the quarter-finals.”

Wales: G Anscombe, A Cuthbert, G North, J Roberts, L Williams, D Biggar, G Davies, P James, S Baldwin, S Lee, L Charteris, A W Jones, S Warburton (captain), J Tipuric, T Faletau. Replacements: K Owens, A Jarvis, T Francis, J Ball, R Moriarty, L Williams, R Priestland, J Hook