Alun Wyn Jones will lead Wales into battle at the 2019 Guinness Six Nations after Warren Gatland announced his 39-man squad for the upcoming Championship.
Wales – who finished second in last year’s Championship with three wins from five – are coming off the back of an unprecedented perfect Autumn International series during which they beat Scotland, Australia, Tonga and South Africa in Cardiff.
And continuity is the name of the game for Gatland’s final Guinness Six Nations squad – with the coach leaving his role following the Rugby World Cup later this year.
The same ten front-row forwards who featured in the autumn squad have been selected once again, with Scarlets pair Rob Evans and Wyn Jones, along with Nicky Smith, picked as the loosehead props.
Elliot Dee, Ryan Elias and Ken Owens are the hookers in the squad, while Leon Brown, Tomas Francis, Samson Lee and Dillon Lewis provide the tighthead options.
Captain Jones, who has amassed 120 Wales caps and 48 Championship appearances to date, is joined by Jake Ball, Adam Beard, Seb Davies and Cory Hill as the second-row options.
Ross Moriarty, Aaron Wainwright and Justin Tipuric – who all featured for Wales in the autumn – are again named. Josh Navidi returns from injury to be included in the squad alongside call-ups for the versatile Josh Turnbull and Thomas Young.
Wales have selected the same three scrum-halves that featured last November in Gareth Davies, Aled Davies and Tomos Williams.
Gareth Anscombe, Dan Biggar, Rhys Patchell and Jarrod Evans, who made his international debut in 2018, are named as the fly-halves.
Jonathan Davies, Hadleigh Parkes, Owen Watkin and Scott Williams are the four centres named.
Josh Adams, Hallam Amos, Steffan Evans, Leigh Halfpenny, Jonah Holmes, George North and Liam Williams provide Wales’ back-three options.
“We are incredibly excited heading into the 2019 Guinness Six Nations and we are looking forward to kicking the tournament off in Paris against France,” said Wales head coach Warren Gatland.
“We have a really experienced squad of players, who have been around a number of campaigns together and we feel we are in a pretty good place going into this huge year.
“We have got a few injuries and have selected a larger squad because of that.
“We initially selected 40 players but that was reduced to 39 on Monday with Taulupe’s injury ruling him out.
“Six Nations rugby is an important time of year for rugby fans, players and coaches alike and we are all looking forward to meeting up and preparing for this year’s Championship.”
WALES SQUAD FOR 2019 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS
FORWARDS: Rob Evans (Scarlets), Wyn Jones (Scarlets), Nicky Smith (Ospreys), Elliot Dee (Dragons), Ryan Elias (Scarlets), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Leon Brown (Dragons), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Adam Beard (Ospreys), Seb Davies (Cardiff Blues), Cory Hill (Dragons), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Ross Moriarty (Dragons), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys) Josh Turnbull (Cardiff Blues), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons), Thomas Young (Wasps)
BACKS: Aled Davies (Ospreys), Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Tomos Williams (Cardiff Blues), Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues), Dan Biggar (Northampton), Jarrod Evans (Cardiff Blues), Rhys Patchell (Scarlets), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets), Owen Watkin (Ospreys), Scott Williams (Ospreys), Josh Adams (Worcester), Hallam Amos (Dragons), Steffan Evans (Scarlets), Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets), Jonah Holmes (Leicester), George North (Ospreys), Liam Williams (Saracens)
