DRAGONS captain Cory Hill has been recalled to the Wales XV for Saturday's crunch Six Nations clash with England in Cardiff.

The lock returns to Warren Gatland's starting line-up after having to settle for a bench role in his last four appearances.

The 27-year-old is preferred to Adam Beard as one of two changes to the team that started against France on opening weekend, with Gareth Davies coming in at scrum-half.

Hill missed the round two trip to Italy with a cut knee, sitting out a Test for the first time since Samoa in the summer of 2017 when was covering injuries for the Lions, but gets the nod as Alun Wyn Jones' partner in the second row.

His Dragons teammate Ross Moriarty is at number eight with hooker Elliot Dee and flanker Aaron Wainwright among the replacements.

"We are really happy with the experience we have got in the side," said Gatland. "We have been on the road for the first two weeks, we are looking forward to being back at home and to build on those first two wins and to build on our performance.

"We've had a great two-week lead up to this game, we've looked really sharp and the squad are incredibly motivated to kick on.

"We know how important this game is for the rest of the championship. It's a massive challenge playing against an England team that is playing really well and with a lot of confidence and we've got to make it difficult for them on Saturday."

Full-back/wing Hallam Amos misses out after being a substitute in Rome.