Wales have named a 30-man training squad missing 13 first-choice players for Saturday’s Test against the Springboks in Cardiff.
The match falls outside World Rugby’s Test window, forcing both teams to rely heavily on locally-based players. But while the Boks have the depth to absorb their losses, Wales find themselves scraping the barrel.
Coach Steve Tandy’s 30-man training squad includes 20 players with single-digit caps and four uncapped forwards, underlining the scale of the challenge. Only a handful of senior figures remain in Aaron Wainwright, Gareth Thomas and Dewi Lake.
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The second row and loose trio are particularly exposed: three uncapped players and several others with only a cap or two between them are set to step up against the most physical side in world rugby.
Things don’t look much brighter in the backline. Kieran Hardy and Rio Dyer are the only backs who have logged significant Test minutes.
So you agree to play the @Springboks outside the test release period knowing that ….. @WelshRugbyUnion pic.twitter.com/VpoGEGbwmq
— chris jones (@chrisjonespress) November 23, 2025
The rest of the group features fringe internationals and up-and-coming talent thrust into the spotlight earlier than planned.
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Wales training squad:
Forwards: Keiron Assiratti, Ben Carter, Brodie Coghlan, Christian Coleman, Rhys Davies, Harri Deaves, James Fender, Dewi Lake, Evan Lloyd, Alex Mann, Morgan Morse, Garyn Phillips, Taine Plumtree, James Ratti, Danny Southworth, Gareth Thomas, Aaron Wainwright, Ben Warren.
Backs: Jacob Beetham, Rio Dyer, Dan Edwards, Kieran Hardy, Joe Hawkins, Ellis Mee, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Blair Murray, Joe Roberts, Tom Rogers, Callum Sheedy, Ben Thomas.
Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images
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