Wales coach Wayne Pivac has named seven uncapped players in his 38-man squad for Wales’ upcoming Test window.
There are two uncapped forwards in hooker Sam Parry and back rower Josh Macleod, while five uncapped backs are included: Kieran Hardy, Callum Sheedy, Johnny Williams, Louis Rees-Zammit and Ioan Lloyd.
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2019 World Cup squad members Tomas Francis, Rhys Patchell and Jonathan Davies, who all missed the Six Nations campaign earlier this year, return from injury.
Wales will kick off their fixtures with a friendly in Paris against France to prepare for their re-arranged Six Nations finale against Scotland at Parc y Scarlets.
Pivac’s squad will then take part in the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup, kicking the tournament off on Friday, 13 November against Ireland in Dublin before fixtures against Georgia and England, as well as the tournament’s playoff final on 5 December.
‘We are looking forward to getting back to international rugby and getting the squad together again,’ Pivac said. ‘This campaign is hugely important looking to the future and long term to the World Cup in 2023.
‘We kick off the campaign with a game against France which will help prepare us for the rearranged Six Nations match versus Scotland, which is an important game and important we get a good performance from.
‘We then go into the Autumn Nations Cup [ANC] which is an exciting tournament and a great opportunity for us. It is a chance for us to continue developing our game, give opportunities to players and test them at this level. It is ideal preparation for the all-important 2021 Six Nations which will come around quickly after the ANC.’
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WALES SQUAD
Forwards (21): Rhys Carre (Cardiff Blues, 8 Caps), Wyn Jones (Scarlets, 25 Caps), Nicky Smith (Ospreys, 35 Caps), Ken Owens (Scarlets, 77 Caps), Ryan Elias (Scarlets, 13 Caps), Sam Parry (Ospreys)*, Samson Lee (Scarlets, 41 Caps), Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues, 26 Caps), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs, 48 Caps), Leon Brown (Dragons, 10 Caps), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, 138 Caps), Will Rowlands (Wasps, 1 Cap), Jake Ball (Scarlets, 46 Caps), Seb Davies (Cardiff Blues, 7 Caps), Cory Hill (Cardiff Blues, 25 Caps), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons, 21 Caps), Ross Moriarty (Dragons, 45 Caps), Taulupe Faletau (Bath, 76 Caps), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues, 24 Caps), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys, 76 Caps), Josh Macleod (Scarlets)*.
Backs (17): Rhys Webb (Ospreys, 33 Caps), Gareth Davies (Scarlets, 53 Caps), Kieran Hardy (Scarlets)*, Dan Biggar (Northampton, 83 Caps), Rhys Patchell (Scarlets, 19 Caps), Callum Sheedy (Bristol)*, Owen Watkin (Ospreys, 22 Caps), Nick Tompkins (Dragons, 4 Caps), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets, 81 Caps), Johnny Williams (Scarlets)*, George North (Ospreys, 95 Caps), Josh Adams (Cardiff Blues, 24 Caps), Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester)*, Jonah Holmes (Dragons, 3 Caps), Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets, 89 Caps), Ioan Lloyd (Bristol)*, Liam Williams (Scarlets, 63 Caps).
Photo: Getty Images
