Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Jonathan Davies to captain Wales squad with five uncapped players

Wales' Jonathan Davies.

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac has picked Jonathan Davies as his captain this summer in a 34-man squad which contains five uncapped players.

ADVERTISEMENT

Wales face three home games against Canada and Argentina this July and Pivac has selected a squad that features experience as well as youth as he continues his preparations for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The 94-cap Davies was one of the surprise omissions from Warren Gatland’s British and Irish Lions squad this summer, but will instead lead a squad that includes three uncapped players in the pack, Dragons duo Ben Carter and Taine Basham, and Ospreys’ Gareth Thomas. Cardiff’s Ben Thomas and Scarlets’ Tom Rogers are the two uncapped players in the back line.

Video Spacer

Spirit of Rugby Episode 4

Video Spacer

Spirit of Rugby Episode 4

Back-row Basham (21) has featured in Pivac’s training squads previously, while prop Gareth Thomas (27) has represented Wales under-20, as have second-row Carter (20) and centre Ben Thomas (22). Rogers (22) has also represented Wales on the sevens circuit.

“We are really looking forward to this summer, getting to work with this squad and the three home tests that we will face,” said Pivac.

“It is great that we are able to select five uncapped players in the squad. It is an opportunity, much like the autumn campaign last year, to get these players into the environment and to expose them to test match preparation and in some cases test match rugby.

“This summer isn’t just about the uncapped players it is also about internationals gaining more experience. It is a chance for them to get more starts and appearances under their belt and to step into leadership roles so it is going to be an important period for us.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We will have a training camp in North Wales before returning to Cardiff for our three tests so it is a great block of time we have together.

“Whilst the Six Nations success is still fresh in many people’s memories it is important we continue to build both depth and our game as we continue to the RWC 2023.”

FORWARDS (19):

Rhodri Jones (Ospreys) (20 Caps)
Nicky Smith (Ospreys) (39 Caps)
Gareth Thomas (Ospreys) (*Uncapped)
Elliot Dee (Dragons) (37 Caps)
Ryan Elias (Scarlets) (17 Caps)
Sam Parry (Ospreys) (4 Caps)
Leon Brown (Dragons) (17 Caps)
Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs) (57 Caps)
Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Rugby) (28 Caps)
Adam Beard (Ospreys) (25 Caps)
Ben Carter (Dragons) (*Uncapped)
Cory Hill (Cardiff Rugby) (32 Caps)
Will Rowlands (Wasps) (7 Caps)
Taine Basham (Dragons) (*Uncapped)
James Botham (Cardiff Rugby) (6 Caps)
Ross Moriarty (Dragons) (45 Caps)
Josh Navidi (Cardiff Rugby) (28 Caps)
Josh Turnbull (Cardiff Rugby) (10 Caps)
Aaron Wainwright (Dragons) (29 Caps)

BACKS (15):

Kieran Hardy (Scarlets) (4 Caps)
Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby) (22 Caps)
Rhodri Williams (Dragons) (3 Caps)
Callum Sheedy (Bristol Bears) (9 Caps)
Jarrod Evans (Cardiff Rugby) (6 Caps)
Jonathan Davies (Scarlets) (88 Caps) (CAPT)
Willis Halaholo (Cardiff Rugby) (4 Caps)
Nick Tompkins (Saracens) (10 Caps)
Ben Thomas (Cardiff Rugby) (*Uncapped)
Hallam Amos (Cardiff Rugby) (23 Caps)
Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets) (95 Caps)
Jonah Holmes (Dragons) (5 Caps)
Owen Lane (Cardiff Rugby) (2 Caps)
Ioan Lloyd (Bristol Bears) (2 Caps)
Tom Rogers (Scarlets) (*Uncapped)

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Boks Office | Episode 37 | Six Nations Round 4 Review

Cape Town | Leg 2 | Day 2 | HSBC Challenger Series 2025 | Full Day Replay

Gloucester-Hartpury vs Bristol Bears | PWR 2024/25 | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 36 | Six Nations Round 3 Review

Why did Scotland's Finn Russell take the crucial kick from the wrong place? | Whistle Watch

England A vs Ireland A | Full Match Replay

Kubota Spears vs Shizuoka BlueRevs | JRLO 2024/2025 | Full Match Replay

Watch now: Lomu - The Lost Tapes

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 7 minutes ago
Super Rugby Pacific has turned the ship around in the right direction

LOL thats the same mentality the French saying about the Top 14. Why change their ridiculous comp if its performing well with investors?


There is always better JWH.


It depends really what you want out of Super Rugby and NPC. Currently Super Rugby fills both niche’s, it has the up and commers as well as the stars performing at the top. Reducing further obviously improves further on what has been the reason everybody is enjoying this season.


There is definitely a question of balance and what going further that way removes. But theres a few reasons. What coaches are telling us is it is also a struggle to find the talent to fill out a strong SR side. There is talk of increasing financial constraints. Currently there is a lopsided (random) amount of derby home and away match ups in each conference, so going 5v5 instead of 6v6 may mean we have a full derby round for each conference (currently I think they play just 3 teams twice), or even squeeze in a full dbl round comp. Going a larger number of teams means they need to go much larger to fairer league setup.


But they need to add or remove JWH, one or the other, and I was merely pointing out that adding, like you’re suggestion, is likely going to introduce just what we all (or at least what the person I was replying to was saying) think the comp has been remedied of, having a weak team. The 5v5 I referenced was 3 Aus teams, with the other two filling the landscape their, and 5 here. That’s what NZR wanted to kick off for the COVID year but ARU threw a hissy fit. If going to 10 is the right thing to do maybe it’s an NZ team that needs to be dropped, so Moana would remain here and Drua continue to be with the aussies, thats the other possible 5 v 5 setup (which would just be 10 if they found a way for all to play even games).

10 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Lions selection: 3 winners and losers from each country Lions selection: 3 winners and losers from each country
Search