Missing men... a XV full will have to do without Of stars who Gatland in Six Nations quest
WHEN Warren Gatland unveiled his Wales Six Nations squad at their Vale of Glamorgan training base on Tuesday afternoon, there was the distinct feeling that something, or someone, was missing.
It was certainly a new-look squad, with only 14 survivors from last year’s championship joining five uncapped starlets and a new captain in the form of 21-year-old Dafydd Jenkins.
But while change is often a good thing, fans would be forgiven for feeling a little short-changed - and a little anxious - after reading the names laid out in front of them.
After all, there are a lot of important players missing from this year’s squad, from both the old guard and the new.
Very little blame can be laid at Gatland’s door for that, however, as the Wales boss has been dealt a rotten hand, with injuries, suspensions and eligibility issues ruling out scores of first-team players.
Throw into the mix a wing who wants to quit rugby and play in the NFL instead, and you’re left with a pretty depleted squad, as well as a formidable potential XV of absent players.
We’ve taken a look at the team of stars that Wales will be without for this year’s Six Nations and when, or if, they will return to the fold.
You can see how the team compares to the actual strongest XV Wales can now pick here.
15. LIAM WILLIAMS
THE full-back had ruled himself out of this year’s Six Nations after moving to Japanese side Kubota Spears following the World Cup, with his club commitments meaning he is unavailable in February and March.
However, he also said he has no plans to retire and has made himself available for this summer’s tour of Australia.
“I haven’t said I’m retiring any time soon but it’s up to Gats,” he said at the time.
“I’ll be in Japan for two years and we’ll see where that takes us but potentially the World Cup is the last hurrah.
“I’ll speak to Gats after the World Cup and towards the end of the season out there if [Wales] want to take me to Australia for the summer tour I’ll be available for that, but that’s up to them.”
14. LOUIS REES-ZAMMIT
A highly unexpected feature on this list, as the 22-year-old had been nailed on as you can be to feature in Gatland’s squad.
That is, of course, until late on Tuesday morning, when he dropped the bombshell that he was quitting rugby with immediate effect to join the NFL’s international player pathway programme.
“A little bit of a shock,” was Gatland’s conservative summation of events, which transpired a matter of minutes before he unveiled his 34-man squad.
While he wished Rees-Zammit the best in his pursuit of his “lifelong ambition”, he knew, as did everyone, that he would be a major loss to an already depleted squad.
Rio Dyer, Mason Grady, Josh Adams and Tom Rogers aren’t exactly bad wing options to have but - love him or hate him - there is nobody quite like LRZ on his day.
13. JOHNNY WILLIAMS
WHILE there was no guarantee that he would have been picked, Williams was in the conversation for a squad place before a cruel twist of fate.
The Scarlets centre, who made a single appearance for Wales at the World Cup, suffered heartbreak as he was sent off in his side’s clash with Clermont just 72 hours before Gatland named his squad.
The red card incident which saw him collide head-on-head with Julien Heriteau in the 26th minute put his Six Nations spot in serious jeopardy and he was promptly omitted from the squad as he waited to learn his punishment.
In a brutal second blow, he discovered on Wednesday that he had been banned from rugby for six weeks, with a disciplinary hearing deeming the tackle to be “dangerous and reckless” and at the top end of World Rugby’s sanctions, before applying mitigation.
12. JOE HAWKINS
HAWKINS is still ineligible for Wales after making his controversial move from the Ospreys to Exeter last year.
The 21-year-old established himself as Wales’ first choice number 12 during last year’s Six Nations and was nailed on to be part of Gatland’s first-choice matchday squad at the World Cup, only to quit Welsh rugby with just five caps to his name.
He later clarified his situation, claiming that he had been “significantly underpaid” at the Ospreys and insisting that his decision was the right one for his career.
“Whie I have spent the last few years playing professional rugby, and later international rugby, I have been held to an ‘academy contract’ - being significantly underpaid,” he said in a statement.
“Signing for the Chiefs will allow me to grow as an individual, both on and off the field. As a passionate rugby player, my ultimate goal is to fulfil my potential for my club and my country, despite this being put on hold for now
11. IMMANUEL FEYI-WABOSO
THE Cardiff-born wing was primed to be at the centre of an almighty tugof-war between Wales and England, but made his decision earlier this month as he turned down the opportunity to represent the country of his birth.
Instead, he was one of seven uncapped players named in Steve Borthwick’s squad, having chosen England to avoid disrupting his medical studies at Exeter University, with the WRU’s 25-cap rule proving a stumbling block to return to Wales.
Gatland admitted that he hadn’t spoken to Feyi-Waboso himself before naming his squad on Tuesday.
“I didn’t personally speak to him,” he said. “Mike Forshaw had a conversation with him. He expressed his desire to go down the English route. He’s definitely got some talent, there’s no doubt about it. He’s as green as anything. He’s obviously had an approach from England, and he’s decided to take that path.” a
10. GARETH ANSCOMBE
LIKE Williams, Anscombe would have more than likely been ruled out of taking part in this year’s Six Nations after joining Tokyo-based side Suntory Sungoliath after the World Cup.
However, his absence was confirmed when it was revealed he had suffered a serious groin injury that saw him require surand gery led to his registration with Suntory being cancelled just days after arriving in Japan.
Having been left without a club, the 32-year-old is now recovering from his surgery and on the lookout for new opportunities and we may well see him back in a Wales jersey over the summer.
9. ALED DAVIES
DAVIES hasn’t played for Wales since 2019, having quit Welsh rugby and moved to Saracens the following year.
That move put the scrum-half ’s international career on hold due to the 60-cap rule, which he called to be scrapped before i was lowered to 25 caps last year.
However, with 20 caps to his name,
the 31-year-old is still ineligible for Wales.
He hasn’t given up hope of one day returning to the Test arena though, telling Rugby World magazine: “I still want to play for Wales but I’m better off playing [in England] because of the environment. We’re constantly playing in big games and the group of players we’ve got here is unbelievable.”
1. NICKY SMITH
WALES go into this year’s
Six Nations with depleted and largely inexperienced front row resources, with five of the nine players selected having less than six caps each.
One of those missing from the ranks is the destructive scrummager that is Smith, who has been sidelined for the past few weeks with injury.
2. DEWI LAKE
ANOTHER who was denied a spot in Gatland’s squad due to a cruel twist of fate at the eleventh hour.
Just months after a knee injury saw his place at the World Cup put in jeopardy, Lake suffered a hamstring injury over the weekend, being forced off just five minutes into the Ospreys’ win over Perpignan after hearing his leg go ‘pop’.
The hooker was set to be named Wales’ Six Nations captain in the absence of Jac Morgan, but that latest blow means he will be watching the tournament from home.
3. TOMAS FRANCIS
A rock during the World Cup, the Provence prop was a surprise omission from the squad but Gatland has since revealed why he was not featured on the list published.
While Rees-Zammit ruled himself out at the very last minute, the Wales head coach said that F r a n c i s had made himunavailable self for selection some time ago.
“With Tomas Francis, we’d had a conversation a number of months ago that when he went to France, he wasn’t going to be initially available for us in the Six Nations and we were comfortable with that,” he said.
“He hasn’t retired from international rugby and he’ll come back into the reckoning further on.”
4. CHRIST TSHIUNZA
FRUSTRATING times for the towering lock, who was initially ruled out until the new year after breaking his foot during Exeter’s win over Sale in November, his first game back after returning from the
World Cup.
It was expected that he would be back to full fitness in time for the Six
Nations, but a setback suffered during his recovery meant that time was ultimately against him.
“[Christ] has had a little bit of an unfortunate setback,” said Exeter boss Rob Baxter, less than a week before Gatland named his squad.
“In his first session where he was pitch-running and changing direction and putting a little bit more force through the foot, he had a little bit of reaction, a little bit of swelling and a little bit of pain.
“That has settled down very quickly, fortunately, but obviously it means he has to go through that process again.
“He is not far off. He is in that endstage.”
5. BEN CARTER
THE Dragons lock was made a major Six Nations doubt when he suffered a “severe hamstring tear” during his side’s derby win over the Ospreys in November and ruled out for “three or four months”.
While he missed out on World Cup selection last summer, the 22-yearold had featured for Wales against the Barbarians and would have been hoping to add to his 11 caps at next month’s tournament.
6. TAINE PLUMTREE
PLUMTREE confirmed he would miss the Six Nations back in November having suffered a shoulder injury earlier that month.
The injury required surgery, with the Scarlets man confirming on social media that he would be out for around four months, ruling him out of the tournament.
After moving to
Wales from New Zealand last summer and making his Test debut, the 23-year-old missed out on World Cup selection after suffering an initial shoulder injury during August’s warm-up match against England.
7. JAC MORGAN
ARGUABLY the biggest blow to Wales and Gatland. Captain Morgan was in formidable form during his debut World Cup campaign, leading by example with some tireless displays but it has all gone a bit wrong for him in the months that have followed.
The flanker made his first club appearance of the season mid-way through November but weeks later underwent surgery on a knee issue, with the 23-year-old ruled out for “months” after the procedure. In his absence, Dafydd Jenkins has been named skipper, but Morgan will be sorely missed by Wales over the next few weeks.
8. TAULUPE FALETAU
IT was always going to be a challenge for Faletau to get back to full fitness and recover from the broken arm he suffered at the World Cup in time for February.
The talismanic backrower has battled with injury in recent months and it is a reoccurence of a calf issue that he suffered last summer that looks to have ruled him out this time in another big blow to Warren Gatland.
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