Wales Coach Tandy to Cut Squad to 32-34 Players for Nations Championship

Wales head coach Steve Tandy will reduce his squad for the Nations Championship to between 32 and 34 players early next week, bbc.co.uk reported. Tandy made the announcement after watching his side defeat the Barbarians 33-31 in an uncapped warm-up match at the Allianz Stadium. Wales led 14-5 at half-time before securing the two-point victory.

The match drew a crowd of under 20,000. Tandy had started with a 48-man group that was already reduced by injuries to Louie Hennessey, Keiron Assiratti and Liam Belcher. Twelve players from English and French clubs unavailable for the Barbarians fixture will join the squad.

They include Exeter lock Dafydd Jenkins, Saracens-bound scrum-half Tomos Williams, props Nicky Smith and Rhys Carre, and Bristol back Louis Rees-Zammit. Uncapped players Rhys Barratt, Ben Warren, Harrison Keddie and Ryan Woodman made their first appearances for Wales. Jac Morgan, Teddy Williams, Dillon Lewis and captain Dewi Lake returned after long-term injuries.

Tandy said squad decisions will be made over the next few days after assessments by the physios. He noted some tight calls remain on who will tour. Wales face Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium next Saturday before matches against Argentina and South Africa.

Tandy said the team must improve consistency across the board to achieve success in the tournament.