Wales coach pairs North alongside Roberts to deal with Australia centres for World Cup tie
WARREN GATLAND has picked a double-barrelled blunderbuss to deal with Australia's scimitar centres in the battle to decide Pool A supremacy tomorrow.
Wales coach Warren Gatland has paired George North and Jamie Roberts ahead of Australia tie
The Wales coach has shifted George North in from the wing to form a partnership with Jamie Roberts for a match which will pit the losers against South Africa in the quarter-finals.
Both men are 6ft 4ins and a tad over 17stones, and will be tasked with taming the Wallabies' midfield maestro Matt Giteau, all 5ft 10ins and 13st 3lbs of him, and his slightly larger wingman Tevita Kuridrani.
The new-look double act does have some previous - North scored a try two minutes into its first outing, against France in last year's Six Nations. But they may prefer to forget act two - the heartbreaking 33-28 defeat to Australia last November.
North has been brought in from the wing alongside Roberts to deal with Australia's Matt Giteau
"The partnership gives us that footwork and physical presence in midfield, and we've scored six tries in their previous two games together," said Gatland.
"Eventually that's where George will probably end up as he gets older. He has trained well there and looks sharp."
North added: "There's more freedom to roam as a wing and centre is more structured. But you get your hands on the ball a lot more which is always good."