MICHAEL Owen becomes the first player from Newport Gwent Dragons to earn a Welsh cap in the Six Nations Championship when he plays against France at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

Owen has appeared for Wales before, of course, but he will go down in history as the first player from the new region to play for his country.

After featuring all his career at number eight, Owen switched position this season at the request of Wales coach Steve Hansen, who sees his future as a big, ball carrying, ball winning lock.

He has still played at number eight as well as lock for the Dragons, but it is in the second row where he appears in the must-win game against the French as Wales bid to wipe out the Dublin debacle.

Owen plays as the middle jumper instead of Robert Sidoli, whose recall has ended abruptly because Hansen feels he needs more rugby at regional level after being confined to a few games since the World Cup because of a pelvic injury.

Skipper Colin Charvis returns to lead the side after missing the Ireland game with a badly dislocated finger. The versatile back row forward plays at openside flanker, for the second time in four months at the expense of Martyn Williams, who stepped in as captain against Ireland.

As he did against England in the World Cup, Hansen leaves Williams out not because of form but basically because of size.

Just as France have dropped their widely respected openside Olivier Magne to recall a bigger, more rubust player in Thomas Lievremont after a gap of four years Hansen has gone for size in his back row, retaining Jonathan Thomas and Dafydd Jones alongside Charvis.

The outside centre berth in the absence of Sonny Parker goes to Mark Taylor ahead of Tom Shanklin, who scored two late tries as a replacement against Ireland, and Jamie Robinson, despite his four-try haul for Cardiff Blues last week.

Taylor's recall is consistent with World Cup form, while Hansen believes Shanklin is better suited to going on anywhere in the threequarter line from the bench.

The final change involves Gethin Jenkins taking over at tight head prop from the injured Adam Jones which was expected with Ben Evans, recalled to the squad this week, on the bench.

Hansen has resisted the call for more changes, with Stephen Jones, for example, holding on to his place and Ceri Sweeney still a replacement.

Wales: G Thomas (Celtic Warriors); R Williams (Cardiff), M Taylor (Llanelli), I Harris (Cardiff), S Williams (Neath-Swansea); S Jones (Llanelli), G Cooper (Celtic Warriors); I Thomas (Llanelli), R McBryde (Llanelli), G Jenkins (Celtic Warriors), B Cockbain (Celtic Warriors), M Owen (Gwent Dragons), J Thomas (Neath-Swansea), C Charvis (Tarbes, capt), D Jones (Scarlets). Reps: M Davies (Celtic Warriors), B Evans (Cardiff), G Llewellyn (Neath-Swansea), M Williams (Cardiff), D Peel (Llanelli), C Sweeney (Celtic Warriors), T Shanklin (Cardiff).

France: N Brusque (Biarritz); V Clerc, Y Jauzion (both Toulouse), D Traille (Pau), C Dominici (Stade Francais); F Michalak (Toulouse), J-B Elissalde (Toulouse); S Marconnet (Stade Francais), W Servat (Toulouse), P De Villiers (Stade Francais), F Pelous (Toulouse), P Pape (Bourgoin), S Betsen (Biarritz), T Lievremont (Biarritz), I Harinordoquy (Pau).