Wales rugby squad announcement: Gatland names four uncapped players for summer tour

Want to read every word from Warren Gatland’s press conference this afternoon?

We’ve got you.

Click here for the full transcript from the Vale hotel. A lot of ground was covered.

Warren Gatland has explained his decision to not select Morgan Morris, despite the Ospreys No. 8’s continued fine form at regional level.

The 25-year-old finished the season strongly, being player of the match in three of the Ospreys’ last 10 games. Morris has been knocking at the door for some time, but a Wales call-up has never been forthcoming.

That trend continued for Wales’ summer Tests against South Africa and Australia, with Morris not featuring in the 36-man squad.

And when asked to explain why Morris, who has helped the Swansea-based side become the first Welsh side to reach the play-offs since 2018, Gatland pointed to his work off the ball as a possible reason.

Read the full story here.

For Warren Gatland, perhaps the biggest result for his second squad announcement of the year was that it wasn’t derailed like the first.

There was no last-minute bombshells to blow his plans out of the water, which is just as well as this wasn’t ever going to be the easiest squad to pick for a number of factors.

The need to blood youth, mixed with the constant pressure on results after a wooden spoon campaign is one thing. Then, throw in a clash with the Springboks outside of the Test window and you have other headaches to sooth.

Finally, 57 weeks since Gatland named his preliminary World Cup training squad last May, the final step of this lengthy season is upon us.

Rightly, for some, this summer will serve as some much-needed time off, rather than another excuse to hit rucks in anger. You can read the full squad news here.

Read the full sqaud verdict here

That’s everything from Gats.

I think where we are as a team at the moment, the public want to see improvement. They want to see them put on the jersey and put in 100 per cent effort. The effort was there, but there’s a lack of experience in the group. I’m aware there’s expectations at international level.

Warren Gatland

Bit of both. Ryan felt he needed a break. Will the same. It was a tough one because he came back from injury, then had the birth of his daughter. Racing required him to go back. He’s had a long season. He’s desperately proud to play for Wales and wants to be part of the team going forward. I said you’ve got to make the best decision for you, not Wales or your club. I had the same conversation with Nick Tompkins. He came straight from the World Cup to Saracens. Didn’t have much of a break. I felt his form in the Six Nations wasn’t anywhere near as good as the World Cup. He had the option to have a break, but he was desperate to go on tour. Josh’s one was really that he has a few niggles. It’s about him getting himself right. We know we can manage him through the week and he’d do a job for us. But the best thing was getting his body right.

Warren Gatland

Hopefully against South Africa. We need to get some W’s on the board as that creates belief and that feel-good factor. That’s what we need to create as a group. We need to understand we need to work hard. There’s some young players who have the chance. We are where we are, but I see light at the end of the tunnel.

Warren Gatland

Really excited about what we can do. South Africa will be missing a few players but whatever they put out there, they won’t be small. Those are the challenges you want. We want to get back to the respect we’ve earned over a number of years playing against them. You quickly lose that respect. There’s a lot of hard work to put in.

Warren Gatland

I was trying to get as many games as possible. We were looking at playing Samoa. These young players need as many games as they can get. We realise the challenge we’ve got. We’re conscious that there are a few holes in Wales in terms of depth. We’ve got to work hard to reduce that.

Warren Gatland

He hasn’t finished with Wales. We didn’t consider him at this stage. He made the decision to go to France. We’ll stay in contact with him. He hasn’t retired. Tight-head is a real concern for us, in terms of experience and players starting regularly. That’s why we picked those players.

Warren Gatland

Ellis is a bit different as he has that left-foot kicking option. He has some physicality about him. For Keelan, he’s been consistent with the Ospreys. He’s consistent now. Theo is unlucky to get injured as he was an option. For us, the big thing was that we wanted to make sure we had those positions covered in training, so we didn’t have to put a different back in there.

Warren Gatland

I thought he was excellent on the weekend. He looked comfortable on the ball and created space. We were hoping he would have more games at 10. They’ve started looking at that recently. We’ve been pleased with his performances. Whoever we pick there, it will take time. It’s not just the running game, it’ll be the kicking game. It does give us a different dimension. We’ve looked at players who have had some time in the past. It’s not as if we’re throwing someone who hasn’t experienced the 10 jersey.

Warren Gatland

Yeah, probably. We looked at that and felt we didn’t have to commit yet. It’s about who we have as a squad when they come in, depending on the Ospreys. The important thing is having a leadership group.

Warren Gatland

We’ve watched games. In fairness to Cory, he’s been in the Vale quite a lot doing training. Liam had some games, didn’t have a lot of rugby. He’s very keen to be part of the Wales set-up. He does in terms of his experience. He’ll be disappointed in his injuries in the last few years, and we’ll manage him. But we think we can get him through to the next World Cup.

Warren Gatland

Absolutely. You always look back on selection, your gameplan. We made a collective decision as a group to develop youngsters. We know to do that we have to go through some pain. I do see light at the end of the tunnel. I was buoyed by periods where we did play well and put quality teams under pressure. We probably let the game against England slip. Terrible first-half against Scotland. We were leading against France until they brought their big boys on. We had Ireland under pressure at 17-7 down. Score there and it changes the game, if not the outcome. There’s things we can work on, but also focusing on the positives.

Warren Gatland

I think the biggest thing for us when we reviewed it was we put ourselves in positions we could have won. Game management is the biggest thing. Improving collision dominance and getting quality ball in attack. I think we saw that when Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake played against the Dragons. When I look at territory and possession, territory was less than possession. We probably need to be smarter where we play. We had every team under pressure but not for long enough. Those are the learnings for us.

Warren Gatland

It’s a decision we have to make, we’ll see how the weekend goes. Hopefully they go all the way and then we have to look at bringing in other players. If they go on to the final, that’ll change who we have to replace.

Warren Gatland

He has (apologised) and that was dealt with by Cardiff. We’ve moved past that. I had a conversation about Cory about being available for the next few years and possibly heading to the World Cup.

Warren Gatland

It’s not just the attack stuff. It’s both sides of the ball. When we got through the videos with players, it’s stuff off the ball. He’s had some really good games for the Ospreys. We’ve got a load of good players in that position. For him, it’s working on those things.

Warren Gatland

Nicky has done alright. It’s about continuity in selection. We know what Nicky can do and with some of those players we want to keep them in the squad and develop them. The best example of that is Evan Lloyd. We brought him in, saw the potential which was identified by Cardiff, saw how he improved and now he’s starting for Cardiff last weekend.

Warren Gatland

We want to make sure we qualify him for Wales. He’s got lots of potential. He’s done some impressive things for Gloucester in attack.

Warren Gatland

The thinking behind that is looking at some other options, some depth at 10. Looking at a player who can play in a different position. There’s some good 10s in Wales, but they’re not big. We’re looking for that. Maybe someone like Ben Thomas or Jacob Beetham. We know Ben has had a couple of games there.

Warren Gatland

It’s pretty young. Pretty exciting. We’re pretty happy with the players we’ve got. We’ve tried to keep some continuity. The big focus is trying to build some depth.

Warren Gatland

It’s time to hear from Warren Gatland.

“We’ve selected a bigger squad because we don’t have the English club-based players available for the South Africa match. So we will be reducing the squad from 36 to 34 players for Australia.

“I think everyone appreciates and realises we’re building towards 2027. There were moments during the Six Nations where we played some really good rugby and put the opposition teams under some pressure, but we probably weren’t accurate enough.

“It’s about playing for longer periods, putting halves together and putting an 80-minute performance together which ultimately gives you confidence and gives you that opportunity to win games.

“We need to build on that. We need to keep working hard. We’ve got some experience to come back into the squad and some exciting players which is good.

“The big focus for us is about our game management and to get better with that. But we also want to improve our collision dominance whether that’s attack or defence and create some more depth and competition within the squad.”

Warren Gatland

Gloucester Josh Hathaway is one of four uncapped players in the squad, the others being Cardiff duo Ellis Bevan and Jacob Bettham, as well as Ospreys winger Keelan Giles.

Ben Carter, Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan, Taine Plumtree and Christ Tshiunza all return after missing the Six Nations due to injury, while there are also recalls for Sam Parry, Henry Thomas, Cory Hill, Matthew Screech and back-three Liam Williams.

It’s certainly a youthful squad, with the average age coming in at just 25.

We’re just over 15 minutes away from seeing who will get the nod.

Stick around.

It will also be interesting to see who Warren Gatland names as his skipper. Dafydd Jenkins was captain for the Six Nations but Gatland has his World Cup skippers Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake back from injury.

Exeter Chiefs lock Jenkins will be unavailable for the South Africa Test but did a sterling job during the Six Nations.

It’s been a long season for many players in Wales. Due to the Rugby World Cup the more experienced players would have started the season last June for gruelling traning camps in Switzerland and Turkey.

Might Gatland rest a number of senior players with the likes of Josh Adams a prime candidate for this?

A reminder we are now expecting the squad to be released at 2pm today. A press conference with Warren Gatland will follow shortly afterwards and we’ll be bringing you every word as it happens.

Wales will be hoping to put a disappointing Six Nations campaing behind them this summer but it will be tough going. Warren Gatland will be boosted by the return of his Rugby World Cup co-captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake but huge unavailabity means Wales will struggle against the Springboks at Twickenham.

Wales stuffed Australia at the World Cup but the Wallabies are now coached by one of the worlds greatest in New Zealander Joe Schmidt. Having said over the past decade Wales have performed well when on tour and outside Welsh rugby’s toxic goldfish bowl.

It will also be Schmidt’s first game as head coach so there is an opportunity for Wales to sneak a Test win down under. Much of the focus has been building towards the 2027 World Cup with it being a case of short term pain for long term pain but Gatland could really do with at least one win this summer.

Warren Gatland could be about to recall some of the old guard who missed the Six Nations because of club commitments.

Gareth Anscombe has already ruled himself out of this tour but Liam Williams is a serious contender. The 33-year-old, who currently plies his trade for Kubota Spears in Japan, is very keen to continue his international career after missing the Six Nations.

WalesOnline understands Williams is keen to return to Wales next season so there is a strong chance he will be named in Gatland’s squad. Experienced lock Cory Hill is also someone who could be set for a recall especially given the amount of second-rows who are unavailable for the South Africa clash.

Henry Thomas is also eligible again after joining the Scarlets from French club Castres but it is unclear whether the former England prop is in Gatland’s plans.

Many fans will be desperate to see Ospreys No 8 Morgan Morris included. Morris has been in outstanding form at regional level for the past few years picking up player of the match awards as regular as clockwork.

The 25-year-old is a dynamic carrier but up to now Warren Gatland has never included the Ospreys star. Will that change today?

Time will tell but it would be a shock if Gatland did select Morris ahead of Aaron Wainwright or Mackenzie Martin while the likes of James Botham and Taine Basham can also cover No 8.

It will be interesting to see if Gloucester speedster Josh Hathaway makes the cut. The 20-year-old has been in top form for Gloucester but qualifies for both England and Wales.

With Louis Rees-Zammit no longer available and injury concerns surrounding Josh Adams the smart money is on Hathaway getting named in this squad. There’s also a good chance Cardiff utility back Jacob Beetham will join him if only to keep the 23-year-old away from the clutches of Scotland boss Gregor Townsend.

With Tomos Williams currently sidelined with injury Ospreys number nine Reuben Morgan-Williams could be another uncapped player in the squad. Scarlets centre Eddie James and Ospreys wing Keelan Giles could be other uncapped contenders.

One big issue facing Warren Gatland is the fact the South African Test falls outside of World Rugby’s designated international window which means the Kiwi cannot select players based in England or France.

Wales are facing a crisis at lock ahead of their clash with the world champions. Six Nations captain Dafydd Jenkins is unavailable along with Will Rowlands and Christ Tshiunza who all ply their trades outside of Wales.

On top of that Adam Beard, Teddy Williams and Rhys Davies are sidelined through injury while Seb Davies could be facing a suspension after getting sent off playing for Cardiff against the Ospreys on Judgement Day. As a result might Gatland select an extended squad before cutting it down ahead of the Australian tour?

The level of unavailabilities opens the door for other players with Dragons lock Ben Carter likely to benefit along with uncapped Ospreys forwards James Fender and Huw Sutton. There could also be a remarkable recall for Cory Hill who currently plies his trade for fourth division Japanese club Secom Rugguts.

Warren Gatland is set to name his Wales squad for the summer at 2pm today.

Wales take on South Africa at Twickenham on June 22 before embarking on a tour of Australia which includes two Tests against the Wallabies in Sydney (July 6) and Melbourne (July 13) before finishing off with an uncapped match against the Queensland Reds (July 19).

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