Wales name 39-man squad for November Tests with three uncapped players
Wales have named a 39-player squad for their November Tests, and three players who have never played for their country are in it. Dewi Lake has been named captain, according to the BBC.
The uncapped players are Aneurin Owen, Che Hope and Rhys Barrett. "Capped" is the term for a player who has appeared in a full international, so uncapped means their Wales debut is still to come. Head coach Steve Tandy has also called up Seb Davies and Taine Basham for the first time since taking charge.
The squad has been hit by injuries. Rio Dyer is out with a hamstring problem and has been replaced by uncapped wing Macs Page. Tommy Reffell and Kieran Hardy are missing through injury too, and Taulupe Faletau is also absent.
Wales have three home matches in Cardiff, all at the Principality Stadium. They face Japan on 7 November, kicking off at 16:40 GMT. New Zealand follow on 14 November at 14:10 GMT, and Australia close the window on 21 November at 20:10 GMT.
The Japan game carries a bit of history. Wales beat them 24-23 a year earlier in front of a crowd of 61,000. Japan are one of six sides from the other half of the world in this competition, so the three November matches will test Wales against a mix of styles.
The Nations Championship is new this year. It brings together six Northern Hemisphere teams, including England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy, and six from the south: South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Fiji and Japan. Each Northern side plays every Southern side once, with three rounds in July and three in November. Teams are ranked within their own half of the world, and the top sides meet at a final play-off weekend at Twickenham in late November.
Wales's July campaign was mixed. They opened by beating Fiji 39-24, scoring six tries in the process. Argentina then beat them 35-21 on 11 July, and South Africa won 43-0 a week later. Every Wales result feeds into one Championship table, so the November matches still matter for where they finish.
Fifteen of the squad play their club rugby outside Wales. Fourteen are in England and Adam Beard is with Montpellier in France. That makes the squad a spread of players across several leagues, and it means the training camp will bring them together after a busy club season.
For Davies, Basham and the three uncapped players, the next few weeks are a chance to prove themselves at the top level. For the experienced players, the job is to bring steadiness while the new faces settle in. Wales's first test is on 7 November, when the squad will want to start the November window with a win.
