Wales captain Dafydd Jenkins says his switch from lock to flanker will not be the major positional change people are predicting.

He replaces Alex Mann with Will Rowlands returning to the second row.

"I don't think there is as much a change as people from the outside think," said Jenkins.

It will be Jenkins' first appearance in the number six shirt, for club Exeter Chiefs or Wales, although he has filled the role during matches.

Rowlands missed Wales' opening Six Nations loss against Scotland after his partner gave birth, before featuring off the bench against England and Ireland.

"I'm going to play my game like I normally do and probably the only change is the set-piece," said Jenkins.

"Around the park it is a similar role. You get to bring in Will as well and we all know what he can do. I am excited for the opportunity.

"I haven't started there since I was younger [but] I moved there in games for Exeter so I'm happy with the position."

Head coach Warren Gatland said switching Jenkins was something Wales had previously considered but this time will help combat the physical France pack.

"We'd spoken early in the tournament about giving Daf that chance [but] it wasn't the right moment to do that," he said.

"It's a good chance as a young player to get that opportunity in a different position {and] we probably bolster up our back in terms of size.

"We've got to expect a physical challenge, particularly in the early exchanges of the game.

"We know what a big pack France will put out, particularly that first 20 or 30 minutes against Italy when they were direct and could have been three tries up."