The Northampton Saints man starts a Test match in midfield for the first time against Les Bleus, partnering Jamie Roberts in a titanic battle against Wesley Fofana and Mathieu Bastareaud.
With Jonathan Davies, Scott Williams and Ashley Beck all unavailable due to injury, North moves to outside centre against Philippe Saint Andre’s men.
“To put on the Welsh jersey in any position is happy days – for me it’s another challenge,” he said.
“I’ve started at centre for Northampton, played there a lot recently and trained there – it’s something to look forward to.”
North moved to centre in Wales’ defeat to Australia late last year and also played most of the game there against Ireland last month.
“Wing is where I have been playing for the past few years but every day I get more comfortable at centre,” added the 21-year-old.
“There’s a lot more going on at centre – there’s a lot more people running left, right and centre.”
At more than six foot and weighing 17 stone, North is a formidable presence to anyone trying to stop him moving forward. His opposite number Bastareaud is even heavier, their head-to-head duel set to be worth the admission fee alone.
“Bastareaud is obviously a big guy and physical as well,” said North.
“Fofano – he is a ball player, he’s got great foot work and a turn of pace so it’s a good challenge for me and Jamie.
“Hopefully we can turn a corner on Friday night but we can only do our best. We need a result in our favour as well, but for us we have to make sure our own ship is right.
“It’s not over until it’s over as we proved last year.”
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