Wayne Pivac is relishing the chance to play in front of capacity crowds once again after naming his 38-man Wales squad for the upcoming Autumn Nations Series, including eight returning British & Irish Lions.
The last time Pivac had a full-strength squad available for him was the 2021 Guinness Six Nations, where Wales were dramatically denied a Grand Slam by France in a 32-30 Round 5 defeat but still won the title.
Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Alun Wyn Jones, Adam Beard, Gareth Davies, Dan Biggar, Louis Rees-Zammit and Liam Williams are the eight Lions from this summer’s tour to South Africa back on Wales duty, while Scarlets’ WillGriff John and Exeter Chiefs’ Christ Tshiunza are the two uncapped players included.
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With their opening Autumn Nations Series fixture against New Zealand falling outside the international window, Wales will be without their England-based players – which includes the likes of Biggar, Rees-Zammit, Callum Sheedy and Taulupe Faletau.
But Pivac will have a full deck to choose from for subsequent contests with South Africa, Fiji and Australia, as all games take place in front of capacity Principality Stadium crowds.
“We understand that the opening game against the All Blacks is outside of the international window but I believe that we all need this game, after what has been a particularly difficult time for everyone because of the global pandemic,” said Pivac.
“It will be fantastic to play in front of a capacity crowd once again, with a number of these players getting to experience that for the first time.
“This has been one of the most difficult selections I’ve had to make with less rugby than would have normally taken place ahead of a campaign in addition to injuries and player unavailability.
“When you look at selection you want to select in-form players but it’s fair to say that a number of players haven’t hit their top form.
“We have looked at past performances at this level, including a very successful Six Nations campaign, and we’ve cross-credit some of that information into current form if you like.
“Injuries in certain positions, particularly at openside, have forced us to look a little bit deeper than we would normally but what it does mean is that more players have an opportunity to be exposed to this level of rugby. This can only be a good thing as we continue our preparations for the 2023 World Cup.”
Wales’ 2021 Autumn Nations Series fixtures: Wales v New Zealand | Principality Stadium | Saturday 30th October 2021 | KO – 17:15 Wales v South Africa | Principality Stadium | Saturday 6th November 2021 | KO – 17:30 Wales v Fiji | Principality Stadium | Sunday 14th November 2021 | KO – 15:15 Wales v Australia | Principality Stadium | Saturday 20th November 2021 | KO – 17:30
Wales squad for Autumn Nations Series 2021:
FORWARDS: Wyn Jones (Scarlets) (35 caps), Rhodri Jones (Ospreys) (21 caps), Rhys Carre (Cardiff Rugby) (13 caps), Ken Owens (Scarlets) (82 caps), Elliot Dee (Dragons) (40 caps), Ryan Elias (Scarlets) (19 caps), Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Rugby) (31 caps), WillGriff John (Scarlets) (Uncapped), Tomas Francis (Ospreys) (57 caps), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys) (148 caps), Adam Beard (Ospreys) (25 caps), Will Rowlands (Dragons) (10 caps), Ben Carter (Dragons) (3 caps), Seb Davies (Cardiff Rugby) (9 caps), Christ Tshiunza* (Exeter Chiefs) (Uncapped), Ross Moriarty (Dragons) (48 caps), Thomas Young* (Wasps) (3 caps), Taine Basham (Dragons) (3 caps), Ellis Jenkins (Cardiff Rugby) (11 caps), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons) 31 caps), Taulupe Faletau* (Bath Rugby) (86 caps)
BACKS: Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby) (25 caps), Gareth Davies (Scarlets) (62 caps), Kieran Hardy (Scarlets) (7 caps), Gareth Anscombe (Ospreys) (27 caps), Rhys Priestland (Cardiff Rugby) (50 caps), Dan Biggar* (Northampton Saints) (92 caps), Callum Sheedy* (Bristol Bears) (12 caps), Johnny Williams (Scarlets) (3 caps), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets) (91 caps), Nick Tompkins* (Saracens) (13 caps), Uilisi Halaholo (Cardiff Rugby) (7 caps), Ben Thomas (Cardiff Rugby) (1 cap), Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby) (32 caps), Owen Lane (Cardiff Rugby) (4 caps), Louis Rees-Zammit* (Gloucester Rugby) (9 caps), Johnny McNicholl (Scarlets) (5 caps), Liam Williams (Scarlets) (71 caps)
*Unavailable for selection for New Zealand
