Steve Tandy has picked seven Scarlets and four Ospreys in a 39-man Wales squad for November’s three home games. But there is no place for in-form Scarlets wing Macs Page.
Page marked his 50th Scarlets appearance with two tries in Saturday’s 47-14 rout of Newcastle, a game in which Ellis Mee was man of the match. Earlier this month Scarlets coach Nigel Davies called Page “probably the first name on the team sheet”.
Scarlets coach Dwayne Peel said last week: “You can’t ignore players who can beat people.” But Peel also said consistency is what Page needs to play Test rugby.
Dewi Lake captains Wales as Tom Rogers and Reuben Morgan-Williams fly the Ospreys flag
Former Ospreys hooker Dewi Lake, now at Gloucester, captains what the WRU calls “the 1,042-cap squad”. His summer move, along with Jac Morgan’s, led Ospreys coach Mark Jones to admit “we lost some leadership”.
Tom Rogers is in after staking his full-back claim in the Ospreys’ 38-31 derby win at Rodney Parade on 10 October. He was man of the match that night.
Reuben Morgan-Williams is one of three scrum-halves, alongside Saracens’ Tomos Williams and uncapped Dragons No 9 Che Hope. Kieran Hardy misses out after the derby left him needing knee surgery and facing “months not weeks” out.
Prop Gareth Thomas and fly-half Dan Edwards complete the Ospreys four.
Seven Scarlets in Tandy’s Wales squad as Costelow and Elias injuries cloud the picture
The Scarlets seven are Ryan Elias, Taine Plumtree, Sam Costelow, Joe Hawkins, Eddie James, Blair Murray and Mee. Costelow went off after 36 minutes against Newcastle with an apparent hamstring problem, which Davies called a “precaution”, and Elias had a head injury assessment, as Swansea Bay News reported ahead of the Stormers trip.
Plumtree, who came off the bench against Newcastle after summer shoulder surgery, and Hawkins have been allowed to travel with the Scarlets for Saturday’s game against the Stormers.
Uncapped Aneurin Owen, Che Hope and Rhys Barratt in as Taine Basham beats Taulupe Faletau to a place
Dragons pair Aneurin Owen and Che Hope and Cardiff prop Rhys Barratt are the uncapped trio. Owen, 26, was in the 2021 summer squad without playing and comes in with Cardiff centre Ben Thomas injured.
“Aneurin has been so consistent, you only have to look at what he has done week in and week out,” Tandy said. “The Dragons have been really competitive and he is a massive driver around that.”
“He thoroughly deserves his opportunity because his performances have set him aside from everyone else,” he added. Of Hope, 23, Tandy said: “Che is a really exciting talent, and the way that he has performed for the Dragons has been outstanding.”
Liam Belcher, Tomas Francis, Archie Griffin, Louie Hennessey and Dafydd Jenkins are back after missing July. “It’s great to welcome back the players who were unavailable for the first three rounds of the Nations Championship,” Tandy said.
“Added to that, there are a number of players who’ve been in great form for their clubs, and so we wanted to give them an opportunity in the squad this autumn,” he said.
Taine Basham, Seb Davies and Rio Dyer are called up. Basham, last capped against England in the 2024 Six Nations, is picked ahead of fit-again Taulupe Faletau, who made his first appearance of the season for Cardiff at Northampton on Sunday.
“At the end of last season when Cardiff were playing the South African teams, Taine was really impressive and really fronted up,” Tandy said. “He has kicked on and settled into Cardiff really well. He has been telling me all about his line breaks! He’s a great character, and this is a great opportunity.”
Seb Davies has not been capped since the 2022 Six Nations, and Dyer’s last cap came against South Africa last November. Gabriel Hamer-Webb, who made his debut against Scotland in the Six Nations, is included after missing the summer.
Tommy Reffell misses out with a knee injury that will keep him out for four to six weeks. Belcher is third hooker, picked ahead of Elliot Dee, the URC’s leading try scorer.
Wales v Japan, New Zealand and Australia: how the Nations Championship works
Wales are halfway through the group stage of rugby’s new competition pitting the Six Nations sides against southern hemisphere opposition, the Nations Championship.
Their first three rounds came in July, starting with a 39-24 win over Fiji with six tries, two of them from Morgan. Wales then lost 35-21 to Argentina before a 43-0 hammering by South Africa in Durban.
It was a second straight pointless game against the Springboks after 73-0 in Cardiff last November. Tandy had three wins from 12 Tests in his first season.
Wales host Japan on Saturday 7 November (4.40pm), New Zealand on Saturday 14 November (2.10pm) and Australia on Saturday 21 November (8.10pm). All three games are at Principality Stadium and live on ITV and S4C.
Finals weekend follows at Twickenham from 27 to 29 November, where each of the six northern hemisphere sides plays the southern hemisphere side ranked in the same position after the group rounds. “We’re excited to head into our three home rounds of the competition,” Tandy said. “Principality Stadium is a special place to play and means an awful lot to the players.”
The squad assembles next week, and tickets are on sale at wru.wales/tickets.
Forwards: Rhys Barratt (Cardiff, uncapped), Taine Basham (Cardiff, 17), Adam Beard (Montpellier, 68), Liam Belcher (Cardiff, 5), James Botham (Cardiff, 24), Rhys Carre (Saracens, 31), Ben Carter (Dragons, 21), Seb Davies (Dragons, 17), Ryan Elias (Scarlets, 51), Tomas Francis (Sale Sharks, 82), Archie Griffin (Bath, 16), Kane James (Exeter Chiefs, 1), Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs, 31), Dewi Lake (Gloucester, 34, captain), Dillon Lewis (Dragons, 60), Alex Mann (Cardiff, 18), Jac Morgan (Gloucester, 27), Taine Plumtree (Scarlets, 15), Nicky Smith (Sale Sharks, 66), Gareth Thomas (Ospreys, 44), Aaron Wainwright (Leicester Tigers, 70), Teddy Williams (Cardiff, 10).
Backs: Josh Adams (Cardiff, 72), Sam Costelow (Scarlets, 22), Rio Dyer (Dragons, 24), Dan Edwards (Ospreys, 13), Gabriel Hamer-Webb (Leicester Tigers, 1), Joe Hawkins (Scarlets, 13), Louie Hennessey (Bath, 1), Che Hope (Dragons, uncapped), Eddie James (Scarlets, 11), Max Llewellyn (Gloucester, 13), Ellis Mee (Scarlets, 11), Reuben Morgan-Williams (Ospreys, 3), Blair Murray (Scarlets, 19), Aneurin Owen (Dragons, uncapped), Louis Rees-Zammit (Bristol Bears, 43), Tom Rogers (Ospreys, 13), Tomos Williams (Saracens, 75).
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