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No Faletau as Gatland names squad of 43 for Wales' trip to Turkey
By Liam Heagney
Warren Gatland has named a 43-strong squad for Wales’ next warm-weather camp in Turkey ahead of their upcoming Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, a three-match schedule that commences against England in Cardiff on August 5.
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The Welsh were recently in Switzerland for pre-season altitude training and their build-up will now continue with another trip ahead of next month’s matches and then the eventual selection of the 33 players who will be chosen for France 2023.
The five players marked absent include No8 Taulupe Faletau. Johnny Williams, Joe Roberts, Owen Williams and Alex Cuthbert will also miss the Turkey trip, but they are all still part of the overall squad vying for places at the World Cup.
Wales didn’t release official details on why the five players won’t travel to Turkey but Faletau reportedly missed the opening week of the recent two-week Switzerland trip due to a calf injury before joining them for the second week of altitude training.
A statement read: “Head coach Warren Gatland has named 43 players in the Wales senior men’s squad to travel to Turkey (July 23 to 31) to prepare for the first match of the 2023 Vodafone Summer Series.
“Wales play three Test matches against England (home and away on August 5 and 12) and South Africa (August 19 at Principality Stadium) before the official 33-player squad that will head to France is announced.”
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Gatland said: “We are really pleased with how our two-week training camp has gone in Switzerland. The players worked extremely hard and made really good progress.
“As well as having the natural benefits from living at high altitude, players experienced temperatures in the mid-to late 30s during our on-pitch sessions which will be good preparation for our next camp in Turkey.
“The 43 players travelling to Turkey are all available for selection for the first match against England on August 5. Those not travelling remain in our wider training squad and will join back up with us on our return to Wales.
“We have decided to keep a larger group in our squad as we prepare for our three Vodafone Summer Series matches. We know injuries unfortunately can be picked up along the way, so it’s important to ensure that as wide a number of players as possible are up to speed with our plans.”
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Wales squad (Turkey training camp)
Forwards (25):
Corey Domachowski (Cardiff Rugby – uncapped)
Kemsley Mathias (Scarlets – uncapped)
Nicky Smith (Ospreys – 42 caps)
Gareth Thomas (Ospreys – 21 caps)
Elliot Dee (Dragons – 41 caps)
Ryan Elias (Scarlets – 33 caps)
Dewi Lake (Ospreys – 8 caps)
Sam Parry (Ospreys – 5 caps)
Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff Rugby – uncapped)
Tomas Francis (Ospreys – 71 caps)
Dillon Lewis (Harlequins – 50 caps)
Henry Thomas (Montpellier – uncapped)
Adam Beard (Ospreys – 46 caps)
Ben Carter (Dragons – 9 caps)
Rhys Davies (Ospreys – 2 caps)
Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs – 6 caps)
Will Rowlands (Dragons – 23 caps)
Christ Tshiunza (Exeter Chiefs – 5 caps)
Teddy Williams (Cardiff Rugby – uncapped)
Taine Basham (Dragons – 11 caps)
Dan Lydiate (Dragons – 68 caps)
Jac Morgan (Ospreys – 9 caps)
Taine Plumree (Scarlets – uncapped)
Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers – 9 caps)
Aaron Wainwright (Dragons – 37 caps)
Backs (18)
Gareth Davies (Scarlets – 67 caps)
Kieran Hardy (Scarlets – 17 caps)
Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 45 caps)
Gareth Anscombe (unattached – 35 caps)
Dan Biggar (Toulon – 107 caps)
Sam Costelow (Scarlets – 2 caps)
Mason Grady (Cardiff Rugby – 2 caps)
Max Llewellyn (Gloucester Rugby – uncapped)
George North (Ospreys – 113 caps)
Nick Tompkins (Saracens – 27 caps)
Keiran Williams (Ospreys – uncapped)
Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby – 49 caps)
Rio Dyer (Dragons – 7 caps)
Cai Evans (Dragons – uncapped)
Leigh Halfpenny (unattached – 99 caps)
Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby – 25 caps)
Tom Rogers (Scarlets – 2 caps)
Liam Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 84 caps)
