Wales coach Gareth Jenkins will name his new-look 28-man squad for this summer’s tour on Monday April 30.
He is expected to leave around 18 first-choice players at home with the likes of skipper Stephen Jones, Dwayne Peel, Martyn Williams and Ryan Jones all not expected to make the two Test series against Australia.
Likewise Duncan Jones, the Ospreys skipper who captained Wales last summer, and hooker Rhys Thomas will remain in Wales.
The players left at home will undergo an extensive and gruelling eight-week conditioning and fitness programme for the World Cup.
Wales will face the Wallabies in Sydney on May 26 and in Brisbane on June 2 and will form two of the four matches leading up to the World Cup.
All four warm-up games – the Wallabies (twice) in Australia, England at Twickenham on August 4 and Argentina on August 18 at the Millennium Stadium – will be the final opportunity for fringe players to win a World Cup place.
Wales will then face against France in Cardiff on August 26 in a last run-out before the tournament with their first game against Canada on September 9.
