Skip to content

Wales name uncapped Owen Lane and Rhys Carre in 42-man World Cup training squad

Wales coach Warren Gatland
Image: Warren Gatland has named a 42-man training squad ahead of the World Cup in Japan in September

Wales have named two uncapped players, Cardiff Blues duo Owen Lane and Rhys Carre, in a 42-man training squad ahead of the World Cup.

Wing Lane and prop Carre have both represented Wales U20s and have now been given the opportunity to impress Warren Gatland ahead of the tournament in Japan, which begins in September.

They are joined in the squad by Alun Wyn Jones, who looks set to feature in his fourth World Cup, and Taulupe Faletau, who has not played for Wales since March 2018 due to injury.

Thomas Young and Ellis Jenkins, the injured flankers who have 12 caps between them, are not included in the training squad, but could be added at a later date if they prove their fitness.

Owen Lane during the European Challenge Cup Semi-Final match between XXX and XXX at Cardiff Arms Park on April 21, 2018 in Cardiff, Wales.
Image: Owen Lane is one of two uncapped players in the 42-man squad

Centre Jamie Roberts, who has 94 caps to his name, and 64-cap flanker Dan Lydiate have also been left out of the squad, calling an end to any hopes they had of a surprise recall.

As expected, Toulon scrum-half Rhys Webb has not been considered by Gatland due to Wales' restrictions on picking players who play outside of the country and have less than 60 caps.

In total, 18 of the 42-man party have previously played in World Cups, and 36 of them were involved in Wales' Grand Slam success earlier this year.

Also See:

The players will join the training camp on a rolling basis, with each individual being given a break of four weeks after playing the final game of the season for their club or region.

Gatland has planned an extensive regime for his squad ahead of their first Pool match against Georgia on September 23.

Jamie Roberts of Bath Rugby looks dejected
Image: Jamie Roberts has not represented his country since 2017, and looks to have played in his last World Cup

They will undergo a two-week camp in Fiesch in the Swiss Alps before returning for two warm-up matches against England.

The squad will then fly to Turkey for a warm-weather camp prior to two further fixtures against Ireland. The final 31-man squad will be named in the first week of September.

Gatland, who will leave his role as head coach after the World Cup, said: "It is exciting to name our training squad and to get the ball rolling. We've named a 42-man squad, packed with experience.

"A good number of the Grand Slam-winning squad are in there, plus some players who have returned from injury.

"The last couple of years have been about building depth and exposing players and we have done that well, so we have kept the numbers down to make the squad as manageable as possible.

Taulupe Faletau during the NatWest Six Nations match between Wales and Italy at the Principality Stadium on March 11, 2018 in Cardiff, Wales
Image: Taulupe Faletau last played for Wales in the 2018 Six Nations, but is set to feature in this year's World Cup

"We have created some great competition in the squad and there are a couple of players on the injury list at the moment that we could add into the squad at a later date depending on their recovery.

"We have been really impressed with Rhys and with Owen. They have both been on our succession plan for a while and it will be good to have them in camp with us and to see what they are able to do.

"We are looking forward to the squad meeting up and a hard summer of work ahead of us. We have planned it meticulously and the plans have been in place for a good while now.

"Looking back to 2011 and 2015 we were happy with our preparation so we are hoping to take that into this year and hopefully build on it."

Wales World Cup Training Squad

Forwards
Leon Brown, Rhys Carre, Rob Evans, Tomas Francis, Wyn Jones, Samson Lee, Dillon Lewis, Nicky Smith, Elliot Dee, Ryan Elias, Ken Owens, Jake Ball, Adam Beard, Bradley Davies, Cory Hill, Alun Wyn Jones, James Davies, Taulupe Faletau, Ross Moriarty, Josh Navidi, Aaron Shingler, Justin Tipuric, Aaron Wainwright.

Backs
Aled Davies, Gareth Davies, Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Dan Biggar, Jarrod Evans, Rhys Patchell, Jonathan Davies, Hadleigh Parkes, Owen Watkin, Scott Williams, Josh Adams, Hallam Amos, Steff Evans, Leigh Halfpenny, Owen Lane, George North, Jonah Holmes, Liam Williams.

Around Sky