Wales co-captain Dewi Lake will miss the Rugby World Cup opener against the Flying Fijians in Bordeaux on Monday morning on fitness grounds.
Lake injured his knee against England at Twickenham on 12 August and is not being risked.
“The medical team has done a fantastic job getting Dewi back to full fitness,” Coach Warren Gatland told the BBC.
“He’s not had as much training under his belt as the other hookers since he picked up that knock, so Ryan Elias and Elliot Dee are selected for this game.”
Meanwhile number eight Taulupe Faletau has been passed fit to face the Fijian test.
Faletau missed all three World Cup warm-up games in August with a calf injury but has recovered in time to win his 101st cap.
Openside flanker Jac Morgan, playing in his first World Cup, will captain the side.
Flying winger Louis Rees Zammit, Nick Tompkins, another experienced back at centre, as well as forwards Gareth Thomas and Will Rowlands will be making their first starts on rugby’s biggest stage.
Five players on the bench will also be appearing in their first World Cup but there is plenty of experience in the side.
Alongside Tompkins at centre, George North will be appearing in his fourth World Cup and both scrum-half Gareth Davies and fly-half Dan Biggar are in the tournament for the third occasion.
The Wales vs Fiji match kicks off at 7am (Fiji Time).
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 1 Gareth Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 3 Tomas Francis, 4 Will Rowlands, 5 Adam Beard, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Jac Morgan (c), 8 Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Dafydd Jenkins, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Rio Dyer.
