1
Wales announce Rugby World Cup squad
By Online Editors
Warren Gatland has finalised his 31-man squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup in Japan. The Kiwi coach was forced to cut 9 players from his training squad following Wales' loss to Ireland yesterday in Cardiff.
There is no place in the squad for the highly experienced duo of Samson Lee and Rob Evans, with Gatland deciding to go with five props, including Rhys Carre. Scott Williams also misses out along Owen Lane, with and Hallam Amos and Owen Watkin preferred.
"Selection is always the toughest part of the job and that is especially true come RWC time," said Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland.
"Reducing the squad down to 31 has been extremely hard especially when you look at the depth we have created and the amount of the work the training squad have put in, for some, 14 weeks of training.
"We are really happy with the final 31, we feel there is an excellent blend to the squad, in terms of talent, experience and age profile and we are all incredibly excited about heading to Japan and what lies ahead.
Asked before the announcement if he thought it would be the best Wales squad he takes to a World Cup, Gatland said: “I think so, yes. “I think it’s the best squad in terms of the depth we’ve got. If we do pick up a few injuries like we did in 2015, I think we would be able to cope so much better now.
“The expectation from ourselves is that we will be very disappointed if we don’t make the quarter-finals, and that’s step one. Then you take every game as it comes. I think we’ve massively over-achieved in what we’ve done in the last 12 years.
“We are not finished yet. If we are mentally and physically right, we’re capable of beating anyone in the world. I honestly believe we will go a long way at this World Cup.
FORWARDS
Jake Ball - Camberley | Scarlets (35 Caps) (2015 RWC)
Adam Beard - Birchgrove RFC | Ospreys (15 Caps)
Rhys Carre - St Joseph's | Saracens (1 Cap)
James Davies - Whitland | Scarlets (5 Caps)
Elliot Dee - Newbridge RFC | Dragons (21 Caps)
Ryan Elias - Carmarthen Athletic | Scarlets (8 Caps)
Tomas Francis - Malton & Norton | Exeter Chiefs (42 Caps) (2015 RWC)
Cory Hill - Pontypridd | Dragons (24 Caps)
Alun Wyn Jones - Bonymaen | Ospreys (127 Caps) (2007/11/15 RWC)
Wyn Jones - Llandovery | Scarlets (14 Caps)
Dillon Lewis - Beddau | Cardiff Blues (14 Caps)
Ross Moriarty - Morriston | Dragons (33 Caps) (2015 RWC)
Josh Navidi - Bridgend Athletic | Cardiff Blues (18 Caps)
Ken Owens - Carmarthen Athletic | Scarlets (66 Caps) (2011/15 RWC)
Aaron Shingler - Hendy | Scarlets (20 Caps)
Nicky Smith - Waunarlwydd | Ospreys (30 Caps)
Justin Tipuric - Trebanos | Ospreys (65 Caps) (2015 RWC)
Aaron Wainwright - Whitehead RFC | Dragons (11 Caps)
BACKS
Josh Adams - Hendy RFC | Cardiff Blues (13 Caps)
Hallam Amos - Monmouth RFC | Cardiff Blues (20 Caps)(2015 RWC)
Dan Biggar - Gorseinon | Northampton Saints (72 Caps) (2015 RWC)
Aled Davies - Whitland | Ospreys (19 Caps)
Gareth Davies - Newcastle Emlyn | Scarlets (43 Caps) (2015 RWC)
Jonathan Davies - Whitland | Scarlets (75 Caps) (2011 RWC)
Leigh Halfpenny - Gorseinon | Scarlets (81 Caps) (2011 RWC)
George North - Llangefni RFC | Ospreys (85 Caps) (2011/15 RWC)
Hadleigh Parkes - Hunterville |Scarlets (17 Caps)
Rhys Patchell - CRICC | Scarlets (12 Caps)
Owen Watkin - Bryncethin | Ospreys (16 Caps)
Liam Williams - Waunarlwydd | Saracens (57 Caps) (2015 RWC)
Tomos Williams - Treorchy Zebras | Cardiff Blues (8 Caps)
Rugby World Cup City Guide - Oita
Trending on RugbyPass
2
France's Peato Mauvaka cited for yellow-carded Ben White incident
3
'Cat is out of the bag' over Curry after 'uphill battle': Sanderson
4
Saints confirm severity of Ollie Sleightholme setback
5
Latest Comments
Good,
France - England
Inbetween,
Scotland - Italy
Bad,
Ireland - Wales
Go to commentsAssessing the overall state of Romanian rugby is quite challenging, as it's a mixed bag with both positives and negatives.
Club Finances & Player Salaries: Teams like Steaua and Dinamo have solid financial backing and can pay their players well—often more than clubs in the French 4th division and sometimes even the 3rd. This financial stability is a key reason why many Romanian players choose to stay rather than move to lower-tier French leagues.
Professionalism & Foreign Influence: The SuperLiga, with its six teams, maintains a strong professional setup. This attracts many foreign players, which raises the overall level of competition. However, this also makes it difficult for young Romanian players to transition into the top league, as the jump from training 2-3 times a week to a full-time professional setup is significant.
Facilities: While some clubs, like Steaua, have modern facilities, others, such as Timișoara, struggle with inadequate infrastructure. Outside the SuperLiga, the situation is even worse—many clubs still rely on outdated communist-era facilities. Since most don’t own their stadiums, investment in improvements is minimal. Clubs risk losing their grounds to football academies (e.g., Tei - Bucharest), real estate developments (e.g., Brașov), or stalled public projects (e.g., Brăila’s unfinished Olympic pool, under construction for 15 years).
League Structure & Future Growth: The first division remains fully professional and competitive compared to other second-tier leagues in Europe. However, with only six teams, expansion seems unlikely in the next 1-2 years. Meanwhile, second-division teams are barely surviving.
Junior Development: Youth rugby is in decline, with fewer teams and players than before. However, there are promising efforts to establish privately funded clubs, particularly at the mini-rugby level.
Overall, while the top-tier league is stable, Romanian rugby still faces major challenges in infrastructure, youth development, and league expansion.
In theory, the current state should be enough to keep us among the top 24 teams in the world, ensuring Rugby World Cup qualification and potentially climbing a few spots in the World Rankings - but not much beyond that. However, I can also see us occasionally missing out on a World Cup or having to go through the repechage if we falter on the wrong day.
Go to comments