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<\/p>\nWales head coach Steve Tandy could look at some fresh faces in the Nations Championship<\/p>\n
19:30, 01 Apr 2026<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_211023-Connacht-v-Ospreys-United-Rugby-Championship-.jpg\")
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Ospreys hooker Lewis Lloyd could be a bolter for Wales this summer(Image: Huw Evans Agency)<\/p>\n
Steve Tandy may not overhaul Wales this summer, but a handful of bolters are giving him plenty to think about.<\/p>\n
While none of Wales\u2019 four professional sides are expected to challenge at the very top end of the domestic season, there is still plenty riding on the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n
The bulk of the Six Nations group is likely to remain intact, but Steve Tandy could yet turn to a handful of emerging talents as he looks to strengthen depth and inject fresh energy into his options.<\/p>\n
Here are six potential bolters who could come into contention this summer.<\/p>\n
Rhys Barratt<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old loosehead has been outstanding for Cardiff this season and is a player who is most certainly knocking on the international door.<\/p>\n
Barratt is a solid scrummager, but he brings so much with his work rate around the park.<\/p>\n
JOIN OUR WALES RUGBY FACEBOOK PAGE Latest news, analysis and much more<\/a><\/p>\n He is a very explosive carrier who makes a lot of tackles and is a jackal threat, while he is also a talented ball player, as evidenced by a tremendous 50\/22 in the victory over Racing 92 in January.<\/p>\n Rhys Carr\u00e9 and Nicky Smith are the clear first-choice looseheads, while Gareth Thomas is an experienced player.<\/p>\n But might Tandy look to develop a younger loosehead behind Carr\u00e9 and Smith with the World Cup in mind?<\/p>\n Deian Gwynne<\/p>\n The 20-year-old is pencilled in to lead Wales U20s at the U20s World Cup in Georgia this summer.<\/p>\n But it is not out of the realms of possibility Tandy decides to include the backrower in his wider Wales squad.<\/p>\n Gwynne is a serious prospect with the potential to develop into a high-end international and is a regular in Gloucester’s matchday 23.<\/p>\n The man from Aberystwyth<\/a> is a powerful carrier who hits people hard in defence while technically Gwynne is very good at the lineout and the breakdown.<\/p>\n It’s a matter of when not if Gwynne represents Wales at senior level.<\/p>\n Download WalesOnline’s mobile app for our best reading experience for subscribers<\/a><\/p>\n Bryn Bradley<\/p>\n The Harlequins centre is a big man at 6ft 5in and 16st 10lb.<\/p>\n Bradley has started to get far more minutes for a struggling Harlequins side this season and has impressed.<\/p>\n The former Wales U20s centre is dual-qualified and is an explosive ball carrier with an excellent offloading game, having previously been compared to Jamie Roberts.<\/p>\n He is certainly a player who could be an asset for Tandy’s side in the future.<\/p>\n It is not unreasonable to think that England will also be looking at Bradley and may even consider selecting the 22-year-old in their A squad.<\/p>\n Tandy could do a lot worse than include Bradley in his wider squad this summer.<\/p>\n James Williams<\/p>\n Pat Lam previously described Williams as the Roy Keane of his Bristol Bears side.<\/p>\n The no-nonsense centre is the glue that holds the Bears backline together and is an integral part of their team.<\/p>\n Williams is an altogether different style of centre to Bradley and can also cover outside-half.<\/p>\n The 29-year-old is a ball playing 12 with a physical edge while he is also a goal kicker so would suit the style of centre that attack coach Matt Sherratt has historically preferred.<\/p>\n It would not be a surprise if Tandy wanted to take a closer look at Williams this summer with next year’s World Cup in mind.<\/p>\n The only question mark is whether he is too similar in style to Joe Hawkins and Ben Thomas.<\/p>\n Kane James<\/p>\n The Exeter Chiefs backrower is one of the finest prospects in the English game and was an integral part of the England who won the U20s World Cup in 2024.<\/p>\n James was born in Haverfordwest but came through the ranks at St Peters RFC in Cardiff<\/a> before getting picked up by the Chiefs.<\/p>\n He qualifies for Wales, England and New Zealand so Tandy has a real fight on his hands if he wants to persuade James to represent the land of his birth.<\/p>\n James is an explosive carrier with X-factor, while his offloading and physicality are a real point of difference.<\/p>\n The Exeter Chiefs backrower picked up an injury on the eve of the Six Nations<\/a> but Tandy could do worse than select the 20-year-old for the inaugural Nations Championship.<\/p>\n Lewis Lloyd<\/p>\n Wales are strong at hooker with Dewi Lake, Ryan Elias, Elliot Dee, Liam Belcher and Brodie Coghlan, among others, in the frame.<\/p>\n But Lloyd has been outstanding for the Ospreys<\/a> and is a player with a high ceiling.<\/p>\n The 23-year-old is solid at the set-piece but is a livewire around the park.<\/p>\n Lloyd is an explosive carrier who is also extremely effective in the wide channels.<\/p>\n Tandy may name an extended squad to have a look at a few fresh faces and if he does then Lloyd should be considered.<\/p>\n Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here<\/a> and our WhatsApp channel here<\/a> for all the breaking news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wales head coach Steve Tandy could look at some fresh faces in the Nations Championship 19:30, 01 Apr…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[8934,5903,101,56,54,55,9015],"class_list":["post-507771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-premium","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wales-rugby-team"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}