Wales head coach Steve Tandy has named his finalised 33-man squad for the Nations Championship Tests in July, with two uncapped men included.<\/p>\n
Back in May, Tandy announced a 46-man extended group to begin preparations for the uncapped fixture against the Barbarians and subsequent Tests against Fiji, Argentina and the Springboks, but following their 33-31 win over the famous touring side on Saturday (27 June), has cut 13 players from that initial squad.<\/p>\n
While some of the cuts have been made on a selection basis, some have also come as a result of injury. Keiron Assiratti and Liam Belcher were already ruled out, but upon confirming their final squad, Wales have also now confirmed Dafydd Jenkins will miss the Tests after suffering a shoulder injury in Exeter Chiefs\u2019 PREM final loss to Northampton Saints that requires surgery. The towering lock also missed their tour of Japan last year to undergo surgery on a shoulder issue.<\/p>\n
Wales name two uncapped players in final 33-man Nations Championship squad<\/p>\n
Wales\u2019 uncapped contingent both come in the pack, with Exeter Chiefs and former England U20s hotshot Kane James and Ospreys man Ben Warren both included in the final touring party.<\/p>\n
Steve Tandy fires warning at side despite Barbarians victory as he looks ahead to \u2018chaotic\u2019 fixture<\/a><\/p>\n As previously confirmed, Dewi Lake will lead the squad as captain, but is joined by the likes of Jac Morgan, Adam Beard, Aaron Wainwright, Josh Adams, Tomos Williams and Louis Rees-Zammit in an experienced squad that boasts a combined 882 Test caps.<\/p>\n Commenting on his final group, Tandy said: \u201cWe have selected a squad of 33 players for the Nations Championship to mirror what will be required for the World Cup in 2027. We are building a lot of competition among our group of players, which is what we want to have, and there were some tough calls to make.<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have an exciting opportunity over the next three weeks in a brand-new competition and can\u2019t wait to get our campaign started against Fiji on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I\u2019ve mentioned before, the priorities for us this summer are to keep growing and developing the players. We want to continue building and to be more consistent in our performances across all three games.\u201d<\/p>\n Wales final 33-man Nations Championship squad in full<\/p>\n Forwards: Adam Beard, James Botham, Rhys Carre, Ben Carter, Ryan Elias, Kane James, Dewi Lake (c), Dillon Lewis, Evan Lloyd, Alex Mann, Jac Morgan, Taine Plumtree, Tommy Reffell, Nicky Smith, Gareth Thomas, Aaron Wainwright, Sam Wainwright, Ben Warren, Teddy Williams<\/p>\n