WALES head coach Wayne Pivac says flanker Taine Basham has paid the price for his errors against England after dropping the Dragons star for tomorrow night’s Six Nations clash against France in Cardiff (kick-off 8pm).

Basham and fellow Dragons back-rower Ross Moriarty started alongside Taulupe Faletau in the 23-19 defeat at Twickenham on February 26.

But both miss out against Grand Slam contenders France, with Moriarty on the bench and Basham out of the 23.

Pivac has replaced the Dragons duo with Cardiff pair Josh Navidi, back in the squad after five months out with a shoulder injury, and Seb Davies, who is normally a lock.

It’s a surprise omission for Basham, pictured, who has impressed since making his international debut last year.

The 22-year-old from Newport was Wales’ sole try scorer on a miserable afternoon in Dublin on the opening weekend of the Six Nations, while only Italy’s Michele Lamaro made more tackles than Basham’s 32 through the first two rounds of the tournament, while he was also Wales’ top-carrying forward.

Explaining his decision to drop Basham, Pivac said: “He’s a young player who’s played a lot of big games in a row. He started to make a few errors in the last game, we’ve spoken about that.

“Taine was very open and honest and he’s working hard at his game because he wants to keep improving in every match.

“We’ve got a guy like Navs who is available, and we think it’s a good time to freshen Taine up and also to give Josh that opportunity. We’ll wait and see what we do next week.”

He added: “Seb at six just gives us a little bit more size.

“It helps the lineout, but also in the wider channels where he often runs – he’s got the skillset to trouble a few defenders out wide.”

Centre Jonathan Davies is included in place of concussion victim Nick Tompkins, while prop Gareth Thomas also starts.

Pivac has selected prop Tomas Francis, who suffered a head injury against England.

Centre Owen Watkin and Josh Adams have also recovered from head knocks at Twickenham.

Wales had been warned against picking Francis after the Ospreys prop collided with Watkin during the England game.

Television footage showed Francis staggering following a clash of heads, and he also appeared to lean on the post pads for support.

The 29-year-old was removed from the pitch for a head injury assessment that he passed, before returning and playing until the 56th minute.