Priestland will start at full-back for the clash against England and the 24-year-old is eager to take his chance and earn himelf a spot on the plane to New Zealand later this month.
“It’s a big opportunity for me in a World Cup year and I am just desperate to get out there on the field,” he said.
“I know this is a real chance for me and I want a good performance to show I can play in two positions.
“Everyone is keen to prove a point and it’s up to us to make the most of it.
“If you had asked me at the start of last year I could not have imagined I would be starting away at England this summer.
“It’s been a good year for me and hopefully I can show what I can do.”
England D Armitage (London Irish); M Banahan (Bath Rugby), M Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), R Flutey (London Wasps), M Cueto (Sale Sharks); J Wilkinson (Toulon), D Care (Harlequins); A Corbisiero (London Irish), D Hartley (Northampton Saints), M Stevens (Saracens), S Shaw (Unattached), T Palmer (Stade Francais), T Croft (Leicester Tigers), L Moody (Bath Rugby, capt), J Haskell (Ricoh Black Rams).
Replacements: L Mears (Bath Rugby), D Wilson (Bath Rugby), M Botha (Saracens), T Wood (Northampton Saints), R Wigglesworth (Saracens), C Hodgson (Saracens), C Sharples (Gloucester Rugby).
Wales: Rhys Priestland; George North, Jonathan Davies, Jamie Roberts, Shane Williams; Stephen Jones, Michael Phillips; Paul James, Huw Bennett, Craig Mitchell, Bradley Davies, Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton (C), Toby Faletau.
Replacements: Lloyd Burns, Ryan Bevington, Luke Charteris, Ryan Jones, Tavis Knoyle, Scott Williams, Morgan Stoddart
WRU TV will be following the action live from Twickenham when Warren Gatland’s men take on Martin Johnson’s England. Simply log on to http://www.wru.co.uk/live just before kick off and you will be able to follow Wales’s progress minute by minute.
