Tuesday 24 October 2017 17:41, UK
Warren Gatland has certainly changed things up with his latest Wales squad, as a mix of several high-profile absentees and five uncapped players leave plenty of talking points.
Wales face a gruesomely tough autumn schedule as they play host to southern hemisphere trio Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, in addition to a Test against Georgia.
Here are our winners and losers from the squad...
Winner: Sam Cross
The standout winner from the forwards selected is Ospreys flanker Sam Cross.
The uncapped 25-year-old has only ever played once for any Welsh region and played his first 80 minutes of 15-aside rugby for two-and-a-half years on Saturday. So how has he made it in and where has he been all these years?
Well though he played rugby growing up and at university level, it was actually in the sevens format that he made his mark, ultimately earning his place in the GB squad for the Rio Olympic Games, claiming a silver medal.
In the summer he was signed by the Ospreys and though he featured in preseason he had yet to make his competitive debut until the weekend, and had been on absolutely nobody's radar internationally.
Initially absent from the squad once again for Ospreys' Champions Cup clash at Saracens, injuries to both Dan Lydiate and Justin Tipuric in the warm-up saw him promoted firstly to the bench and then into the starting team.
An energetic display, 14 carries, 14 tackles and a try against the double European champions later sees him in the Wales camp. Amazing.
Loser: Luke Charteris
The towering second-row has been a near ever-present in Wales squads for the last decade, and his omission is one of the major surprises.
Charteris, 34, has been playing his club rugby outside of Wales for the last five years with Perpignan, Racing 92 and Bath.
Such a situation has not harmed him in the past but having been usurped by Jake Ball as Alun Wyn Jones' second-row partner during the 2017 Six Nations, Gatland appears to have turned his attentions to a more youthful looking squad.
Creating depth in the Welsh ranks seems to be a key focus area for Gatland and his staff during this autumn ahead of the 2019 World Cup, as Dragons skipper Cory Hill and 21-year-old pair Adam Beard and Seb Davies get the nod.
Charteris turns 35 in March and his non-selection could be a sign that Gatland does not view him as a viable World Cup option.
Winner: Dan Lydiate
In many people's eyes, Dan Lydiate is somewhat fortunate to have escaped the fate of other Wales stalwarts who were culled from the latest squad.
The 29-year-old blindside hasn't played for Wales since suffering an ACL knee injury against South Africa last November, which ruled him out for a considerable length of time.
Shoulder surgery saw his period on the sidelines extended to 10 months, but his void was filled ably by Ross Moriarty in a real breakout campaign which saw the Gloucester man make the Lions tour to New Zealand.
Lydiate's return for the Ospreys has yet to see him reach the heights of past performances, with the region struggling badly, losing seven games in a row.
Indeed the region's best display so far has come with Lydiate on the sidelines against Saracens in a two-point defeat, and the flanker can count himself lucky to have made the squad.
Loser: Scott Baldwin
Scott Baldwin's hand injury is perhaps the strangest ever to have occurred to a rugby player in history, and it was caught on film no less.
With the Ospreys in South Africa ahead of playing the Cheetahs, it was another large cat which was to stop Baldwin in his tracks as he inexplicably began to pet a safari Lion as if it were his family pet.
A frightening, if not wholly unexpected, bite to his hand later and the hooker was out of action and in serious danger of losing his hand and career altogether.
His price for his poor error of judgement was to miss three weeks of action, and though he made his return against Saracens, it was not enough to make Gatland's squad, with uncapped Dragons hooker Elliot Dee picked instead.
Loser: Thomas Young
We round off the forwards with another player who lost out, but what must Wasps openside Thomas Young do to establish himself in the Wales squad?
Having finally made his Test debut for Wales during the summer, the 25-year-old impressed against both Tonga and Samoa and has caught the eye for Wasps in the Premiership over the last two seasons.
Against Ulster in the first round of Champions Cup matches this season, Young was the best player on the pitch at the Kingspan before going off injured at half-time, and his absence saw the Irish province turn things around completely.
While the story of Cross is a superb one, his exceedingly rapid elevation into the Wales squad after one professional game ahead of Young will be a bitter pill for the flanker to swallow.
Winner: Rhys Priestland
If ever a player deserved a recall then it is Bath fly-half Rhys Priestland.
The playmaker who lost his way so badly on the international stage after initially exploding into our consciousnesses at the 2011 World Cup, seemed as if he would never pull on a red jersey again.
George Ford's exit from Bath opened the door for him at club level, however, and he has grasped it with both hands, guiding Bath to a solid Premiership beginning and unbeaten Champions Cup start.
His performances have been a real highlight for Todd Blackadder and his match-winning display at his old club and reining PRO12 champions Scarlets must have been a sweet moment.
He hasn't played for Wales since June 2016, hasn't started a Test match since September 2015 (and that against minnows Uruguay) and hasn't started a Six Nations or autumn international clash since 2014. But his inclusion is thoroughly deserved.
Loser: Scott Williams
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the squad is the exclusion of centre Scott Williams.
The 27-year-old has developed into a multifaceted back capable of playing the crash-ball game so favoured by Gatland, but also well able to step and offload as he showed for the Scarlets in their run to the title last season.
Of Wales' last 14 Tests, Williams has featured in 13 of them, starting every game in the Six Nations alongside club colleague Jonathan Davies in 2017.
His performances were such that he was disappointed to miss out on Lions selection, but it's the perhaps the re-emergence of Hadleigh Parkes at inside-centre for the Scarlets which has harmed his chances. Even still his omission from the entire squad is a shock.
"Hadleigh is the headline along with the disappointment for Scott Williams. For us it is bittersweet," said Scarlets coach Wayne Pivac, "I am obviously disappointed for Scotty."
Winner: Hadleigh Parkes
The flip side of Williams' omission is the inclusion of New Zealand-born Parkes, who will be delighted.
His displays for the Scarlets so far this season have been top quality and worthy of Test inclusion, but the curious aspect to this situation is the fact that Parkes does not qualify for Wales until December 2, the day of their Test with South Africa.
Therefore he will be unable to feature against Australia, Georgia or New Zealand at all, making Williams' absence all the more surprising.
He will almost certainly feature against the Springboks though, and will be a valuable addition for Wales going forward.
Loser: Jamie Roberts
While not as surprising as the Williams exclusion, Harlequins centre Jamie Roberts will still be immensely disappointed to miss out.
After nine years and 93 caps of service, the Wales squad has rarely, if ever, not featured Jamie Roberts since his debut in 2008, but the writing was on the wall for the 2009 and 2013 Lion when he failed to start a Six Nations game in 2017.
He consequently missed the Lions tour to New Zealand, amid rumours suggesting otherwise, though he did captain Wales in their summer Tests against Tonga and Samoa.
Still only 30, his omission is not a great indication for his future chances under Gatland.
Winner: Owen Williams
With both Williams and Roberts left out and Parkes ineligible until Wales' final autumn fixture, the real winner in the midfield could yet be Gloucester's Owen Williams.
The 25-year-old from Neath has been out of the Welsh system since 2013, lining out for Leicester Tigers and now Gloucester, but he finally earned his first cap against Tonga in June off the bench.
Having started just one Premiership game so far this season, Williams was selected anyway and now could have his sights on the starting Wales 12 shirt.
