Wales head coach Warren Gatland has named his 34-man squad for the 2024 Six Nations, with an added focus on the next generation of Welsh rugby. Having just lost Louis Rees-Zammit to the NFL, Gatland is looking for a new start, for the first test matches of the new Rugby World Cup cycle.
21-year-old Daffyd Jenkins has been named as captain, which sees the young leader emerge as the figurehead for both club and country. Jenkins is the captain for the young-gun Exeter Chiefs side, who have been surpassing expectations in their Premiership and Champions Cup campaigns.
A shocking omission saw Wales and British & Irish Lions wing Louis Rees-Zammit quit the squad, in favour of persuing a career in American Football. News of Rees-Zammit’s departure was broke by Gloucester Rugby a matter of hours before Gatland confirmed his squad, in what is a tough blow for the former Lions head coach.
Gatland has named five uncapped players in the squad, with a further eight set for their first experience of Six Nations competition. The five uncapped players are; Cardiff Rugby back rows Alex Mann and Mackenzie Martin plus their club teammates hooker Evan Lloyd and full-back Cameron Winnett, as well as Bath tight-head prop Archie Griffin.
The eight players set for their first Six Nations appearances include props Keiron Assiratti, Kemsley Mathias and Corey Domachowski, full-back Cai Evans, centre Joe Roberts and lock Teddy Williams, plus Scarlets fly half duo Sam Costelow and Ioan Lloyd.
Wales will have an irrefutably new-look squad, after a contingent of Welsh legends hung up their test match boots in 2023. The likes of Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric stepped down from the squad, Ken Owens did not return from injury, and Liam Williams’ and Gareth Anscombe’s moved to Japan. Dan Biggar has moved on after the Rugby World Cup, with Rhys Webb and Cory Hill also exiting for pastures new.
Speaking on his squad announcement Gatland said: “There’s a little bit of experience in terms of players like George North and Gareth Davies, we wanted a little bit of continuity with that and we’re also thinking about the next RWC cycle and giving some youngsters an opportunity, some youngsters that are not featuring regularly for their club sides.
“I’m really excited about those youngsters and that opportunity to develop them over the next four years. The average age of the squad is about 25 compared to a little bit older during RWC and then you look at this next cycle and you want to get those players to mid to late 20s in terms of experience and age.
“What I’ve learned in the past is that even though we’ve done all that hard work in terms of preparation and build up to the RWC. For me it’s about going back the start a little bit, going back to honing the basics and hammering away at that and almost like starting again. You have to reset in terms of our goals and what we want to achieve. I think Scotland at home is a good game for us, they’re a quality side, they’ll be disappointed with what happened with them in terms of not getting out of the pool at the world cup.
Regarding the captaincy, Gatland added: “We’ve been incredibly impressed with Daf in terms of his professionalism and how he prepares. It’s a great opportunity for Daf, he’s captained Exeter on a number of occasions, he’s a well-respected member of the squad. I rang and spoke to him and he was absolutely delighted to accept the role and I’m sure that he’ll do a great job and get a huge amount of support from the rest of the squad.”
WALES SQUAD FOR 2024 GUINNESS SIX NATIONS
Forwards (19)
Corey Domachowski (Cardiff Rugby 6 caps)
Kemsley Mathias (Scarlets – 1 cap)
Gareth Thomas (Ospreys – 26 caps)
Elliot Dee (Dragons – 46 caps)
Ryan Elias (Scarlets – 38 caps)
Evan Lloyd (Cardiff Rugby – uncapped)
Keiron Assiratti (Cardiff Rugby – 2 caps)
Leon Brown (Dragons – 23 caps)
Archie Griffin (Bath Rugby – uncapped)
Adam Beard (Ospreys – 51 caps)
Dafydd Jenkins (Exeter Chiefs – 12 caps)
Will Rowlands (Racing 92 – 29 caps)
Teddy Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 1 cap)
Taine Basham (Dragons – 16 caps)
James Botham (Cardiff Rugby – 9 caps)
Alex Mann (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – uncapped)
Mackenzie Martin (Cardiff Rugby / Caerdydd – uncapped)
Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers – 13 caps)
Aaron Wainwright (Dragons – 43 caps)
Backs (15)
Gareth Davies (Scarlets – 74 caps)
Kieran Hardy (Scarlets – 18 caps)
Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 53 caps)
Sam Costelow (Scarlets – 8 caps)
Cai Evans (Dragons – 1 cap)
Ioan Lloyd (Scarlets – 2 caps)
Mason Grady (Cardiff Rugby – 6 caps)
George North (Ospreys – 118 caps)
Joe Roberts (Scarlets – 1 cap)
Nick Tompkins (Saracens – 32 caps)
Owen Watkin (Ospreys – 36 caps)
Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby – 53 caps)
Rio Dyer (Dragons – 14 caps)
Tom Rogers (Scarlets – 3 caps)