Wales rugby squad LIVE: World Cup announcement reaction as Warren Gatland names 33-man squad
The 33-man squad is set to be unveiled as Wales look to bounce back after a disappointing Six Nations
Warren Gatland prepares to name his 33-man Wales rugby squad for the Rugby World Cup in France. The announcement comes just days after his side suffered a thumping 52-16 warm-up defeat to South Africa in Cardiff.
Jac Morgan looks likely to captain the side having done so in two of their three warm-up games but Wales already have to contend with a host of injuries as they look to bounce back from a disappointing Six Nations performance.
Fly-half Gareth Anscombe, winger Alex Cuthbert and No 8 Taulupe Faletau have not featured in any of the three preparation games. Dan Biggar and Liam Williams also missed the clash with South Africa while there are concerns, too, at hooker after injuries sustained by Dewi Lake and Ryan Elias against England.
Wales reached the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup - held in Japan - losing out to eventual winners South Africa in the semi-finals.
Follow all the updates and reaction below:
Gatland explains what Wales are taking two scrum-halves
He was asked how he came to the decision to pick Gareth Davies and Tomos Williams and the head coach replied:
“If we do pick up injuries it’s not too far of a distance to go. Both of them have been robust.
“We did talk earlier that there’d be a point where we’d have to make concessions. We looked at the depth in our back three and covering players who are getting on a little bit.
“Wanted more cover in the back three.”
How Warren Gatland chose the World Cup squad
Wales head coach Warren Gatland is answering some questions about his World Cup squad selection at a press conference and explained a little bit about what went into choosing which 33 players would be taken to France.
“[It took] a couple of hours. Some good discussions and talking points,” said Gatland, “We talked about the three games as well and had an update from Prav [WRU doctor].
“We are told they’ll [the injured players] be ready. Faletau is up and running and will do contact next week. Ryan Elias will take part in training this week.”
The unlucky XV
Here are the 15 players omitted from the provisional squad:
Forwards: Kieron Assiratti, Ben Carter, Rhys Davies, Kemsley Mathias, Sam Parry, Taine Plumtree, Teddy Williams,
Backs: Alex Cuthbert, Cai Evans, Kieran Hardy, Max Llewellyn, Joe Roberts, Tom Rogers, Kieran Williams, Owen Williams.
Wales’ World Cup co-captains
Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan are sharing the captain responsibilities in France for Wales.
Warren Gatland announces Wales’ World Cup squad
Drawn in Pool C, Wales’ Rugby World Cup campaign in France begins against Fiji in Bordeaux on Saturday 10 September.
They then play Portugal in Nice on Saturday 16 September before facing Australia in Lyon on Sunday 24 September.
A final Pool C meeting with Georgia comes onSaturday 7 October in Nantes.
‘This will be a very proud moment’ for those selected says Gatland
“The toughest part of the job is always selection and this is particularly the case when it comes to picking a Rugby World Cup squad,” said Wales boss Warren Gatland.
“Over the past three months the whole group of 48 players in the wider training squad has been outstanding in terms of attitude and effort, so having to reduce the squad down to the final 33 has been really hard and there have been some close final decisions in the last 36 hours.
“But we can only take 33 players and those we have selected we think offer a good combination in terms of talent and experience.
“We have a few more training sessions here in Wales before we depart for France on 3 September and we cannot wait to get out there and get started in this tournament. We look forward to what lies ahead for this group.
“This will be a very proud moment for these players, their families and friends and I’d like to congratulate them all on the achievement.”
Lake and Morgan to co-captain Wales at their first Rugby World Cup.
Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan have been selected to co-captain Wales at their first Rugby World Cup with 20-year-old second row Dafydd Jenkins the youngest member of the squad.
Cuthbert and Plumtree miss out
The big omissions are winger Alex Cuthbert who withdrew from the match against South Africa due to injury. Some tightness in his calf saw Cuthbert set aside at the weekend in what Wales described as a precautionary measure but his omission from the World Cup squad may show that the injury is worse than expected.
23-year-old flanker Taine Plumtree is another eyebrow raiser. He injured his shoulder during the match against England but did not require surgery.
“Taine has not been ruled out of the World Cup. He doesn’t need surgery, so he is still available.” said Gatland after that match but it seems the head coach did not want to risk taking him to France.
Warren Gatland announces Wales’ World Cup squad
Gatland asked the people of Wales to announce the individual names of all the players who made it into the squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Here’s the announcement video in full:
Warren Gatland announces Wales’ World Cup squad
Wales’ World Cup squad:
Forwards (19): Corey Domachowski, Nicky Smith, Gareth Thomas, Elliot Dee, Ryan Elias, Dewi Lake, Tomas Francis, Dillon Lewis, Henry Thomas, Adam Beard, Dafydd Jenkins, Will Rowlands, Christ Tshiunza, Taine Basham, Dan Lydiate, Jac Morgan, Taulupe Faletau, Tommy Reffell, Aaron Wainwright.
Backs (14): Gareth Davies, Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Dan Biggar, Sam Costelow, Mason Grady, George North, Nick Tompkins, Johnny Williams, Josh Adams, Rio Dyer, Leigh Halfpenny, Louis Rees-Zammit, Liam Williams.
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