Francis in Welsh squad

By Mark Stevens
24/10/17

Exeter Chiefs forward Tomas Francis has been named in a 36-man Welsh squad for the upcoming 2017 Under Armour Series.

The tight-head prop will be looking to his international tally of caps as Warren Gatland’s side face four consecutive autumn Tests at the Principality Stadium, kicking off against Australia on November 11.

Francis was part of the Welsh squad that headed to the other side of the world during the summer, featuring in the Test match victory against Tonga.

Just hours later, though, he was drafted into the British & Irish Lions squad as emergency cover by Gatland during their tour to New Zealand. Although he was named twice on the bench for midweek fixtures against the Chiefs and the Hurricanes, he sadly did not get any game minutes under his belt.

Nine of Gatland’s touring Lions, however, do form part of this latest Welsh squad, including captain Alun Wyn Jones.

The Ospreys man is joined in the ranks by Ken Owens, Justin Tipuric, Talulupe Faletau, Rhys Webb, Dan Biggar, Jonathan Davies, Leigh Halfpenny and Liam Williams.

After tackling the Wallabies, the Welsh will play host to Georgia, New Zealand and South Africa on successive Saturdays.

“I’m really excited about this squad as we kick off the two year countdown to the 2019 Rugby World Cup,” said head coach Gatland. “We see this series as an opportunity to expose some players to the Test environment and continue to build our game as we look ahead to two years’ time.

“This autumn is a lot different to 12 months ago, where the focus was all about rankings. We have selected five uncapped players, there are a further six who made their debuts on the summer tour, so it’s a big opportunity to see all these players in this environment and I’m looking forward to seeing what they are able to do.

“The important message for those players who have missed out is the door isn’t closed.”

WALES SQUAD

FORWARDS

Rob Evans (Scarlets, 17 caps)

Wyn Jones (Scarlets, 2 caps)

Nicky Smith (Ospreys, 14 caps)

Leon Brown (Dragons, uncapped)

Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs, 23 caps)

Samson Lee (Scarlets, 34 caps)

Kristian Dacey (Cardiff Blues, 4 caps)

Elliot Dee (Dragons, uncapped)

Ken Owens (Scarlets, 50 caps)

Jake Ball (Scarlets, 26 caps)

Adam Beard (Ospreys, 1 cap)

Seb Davies (Cardiff Blues, 2 caps)

Cory Hill (Dragons, 6 caps)

Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, 110 caps)

Sam Cross (Ospreys, uncapped)

Taulupe Faletau (Bath, 66 caps)

Dan Lydiate (Ospreys, 60 caps)

Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues, 3 caps)

Aaron Shingler (Scarlets, 10 caps)

Justin Tipuric (Ospreys, 51 caps)

BACKS

Aled Davies (Scarlets, 2 caps)

Gareth Davies (Scarlets, 25 caps)

Rhys Webb (Ospreys, 28 caps)

Dan Biggar (Ospreys, 56 caps)

Rhys Patchell (Scarlets, 4 caps)

Rhys Priestland (Bath, 48 caps)

Owen Williams (Gloucester, 1 cap)

Jonathan Davies (Scarlets, 64 caps)

Tyler Morgan (Dragons, 4 caps)

Hadleigh Parkes (Scarlets, uncapped)

Owen Watkin (Ospreys, uncapped)

Hallam Amos (Dragons, 11 caps)

Alex Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues, 46 caps)

Steffan Evans (Scarlets, 2 caps)

Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets, 71 caps)

Liam Williams (Scarlets, 43 caps)