Ospreys forwards Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake have been named as Wales co-captains for the Rugby World Cup in a squad announced by coach Warren Gatland on Monday.
The 33-strong party for the showpiece tournament, which starts in France next month, features several recent newcomers to Test rugby, including wing Rio Dyer and centre Mason Grady.
But there is no place in the squad for scrum-half Kieran Hardy, with Gatland selecting just two specialist nines in Tomos Williams and Gareth Davies.
Gatland has selected 14 backs and 19 forwards for the tournament, with Wales facing Fiji — the team that knocked them out of the 2007 World Cup in France — in their Pool C opener in Bordeaux on September 10.
Flyhalf Gareth Anscombe and No 8 Taulupe Faletau are included despite not featuring in a three-game warm-up programme that concluded with a chastening 52-16 defeat by world champions South Africa in Cardiff on Saturday.
Lake has been named as joint skipper despite currently recovering from a knee injury.
Powerhouse centre George North is set to appear at his fourth World Cup, joining a group of players that includes the likes of former Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones, Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll, England’s Jonny Wilkinson and the New Zealand duo of Dan Carter and Richie McCaw.
Wales’s forwards include Henry Thomas, a former England prop.
Thomas, whose father is from Swansea, won seven England caps in 2013 and 2014, but new World Rugby regulations enable players to appear for another country either of their birth, parent or grandparent provided a minimum three-year period has elapsed since last representing another international team.
But notable absentees from the final squad include Ospreys wing Alex Cuthbert and Scarlets back-row Taine Plumtree.
“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 Gatland.
‘Big future’
The New Zealander, who led Wales to two fourth-placed finishes at the World Cup in his first spell in charge, added: “But we can only take 33 players and those we have selected we think offer a good combination in terms of talent and experience.”
As for his decision to name Morgan and Lake as co-captains, Gatland said: “It is a good opportunity and something I have never done before. Both of them have a big future ahead of them.”
Morgan, a 23-year-old flanker, added: “There are plenty of leaders in the squad who say their opinion and get stuff going.
“Dewi is great as a captain. He captained the (Wales) Under-20s. When something needs to be said, he will say it.
“I would never have thought this would have happened four years ago. It is great to be here with Dewi.”
Wales squad
Forwards
Props: Corey Domachowski (Cardiff), Gareth Thomas (Ospreys), Nicky Smith (Ospreys), Tomas Francis (Provence/FRA), Henry Thomas (Montpellier/FRA), Dillon Lewis (Harlequins/ENG)
Hookers: Dewi Lake (Ospreys, co-capt), Ryan Elias (Scarlets), Elliot Dee (Dragons)
Locks: Adam Beard (Ospreys), Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter/ENG), Will Rowlands (Dragons)
Back-row: Jac Morgan (Ospreys, co-capt), Taine Basham (Dragons), Taulupe Faletau (Cardiff), Dan Lydiate (Dragons), Tommy Reffell (Leicester/ENG), Christ Tshiunza (Exeter/ENG), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons)
Backs
Scrumhalves: Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Tomos Williams (Cardiff)
Flyhalves: Gareth Anscombe (Suntory Sun Goliath/JPN), Dan Biggar (Toulon/FRA), Sam Costelow (Scarlets)
Wings: Josh Adams (Cardiff), Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester/ENG), Rio Dyer (Dragons)
Centres: Mason Grady (Cardiff), George North (Ospreys), Johnny Williams (Scarlets), Nick Tompkins (Saracens)
Fullbacks: Leigh Halfpenny (unattached), Liam Williams (Kubota Spears/JPN)
AFP
