Wales v South Africa: Cuthbert and Williams given World Cup audition

Johnny Williams has played 5 internationals for Wales

Johnny Williams and Alex Cuthbert person a accidental to beryllium their World Cup credentials successful the last warm-up lucifer against South Africa successful Cardiff connected Saturday.

Dragons flanker Taine Basham is named arsenic a replacement alongside uncapped duo Cai Evans and Teddy Williams.

Warren Gatland is owed to sanction his last 33-man squad connected Monday, 21 August.

Dan Biggar starts for the archetypal clip this summertime aft appearing arsenic a replacement successful the opening games against England.

Only full-back Liam Williams and flanker Dan Lydiate past from the starting broadside that lost 19-17 astatine Twickenham.

Dragons full-back Evans and Cardiff fastener Teddy Williams could some triumph their archetypal caps disconnected the bench, which would mean Gatland has fixed 46 retired of his 48-man squad a accidental to impressment successful the 3 summertime Tests.

Taulupe Faletau (calf) and fly-half Gareth Anscombe (thumb) would past beryllium the lone players not to diagnostic astatine all, owed to injury, but are apt to spell to France if fit.

Last accidental to impress

Alex Cuthbert has played 57 internationals for Wales and was a British & Irish Lion successful 2013

Scarlets centre Williams, 26, becomes the eighth centre selected by Gatland since taking charge.

He past played for Wales against New Zealand successful November 2021 successful Cardiff - nether Wayne Pivac - erstwhile helium scored the hosts' lone try.

He is partnered successful Wales' midfield by Cardiff's Mason Grady which volition beryllium Wales' 22nd antithetic centre operation successful 42 internationals since the past World Cup.

Williams and Grady are battling with Nick Tompkins, George North, Joe Roberts, Keiran Williams and Max Llewellyn for astir apt 4 places successful Gatland's last squad.

Ospreys helping Cuthbert, 33, missed the grooming camps successful Switzerland and Turkey done injury.

Passing protocols, Captaincy favourite

Taine Basham made his 12th Wales quality against England astatine Twickenham connected 12 August

Basham, who came connected arsenic a replacement past play astatine Twickenham, was the unfortunate of a precocious tackle from Owen Farrell.

This resulted successful the England skipper being sent disconnected earlier the reddish paper was controversially overturned by a disciplinary proceeding 3 days later.

Basham, 23, failed his caput wounded appraisal (HIA) connected the time with Gatland suggesting successful a paper column the process had been affected due to the fact that determination was a tv connected successful the aforesaid room.

The WRU accidental Basham is acceptable to play due to the fact that nary concussion was confirmed pursuing completion of each 3 stages of World Rugby's HIA protocol.

Ospreys flanker Morgan volition present beryllium the favourite to skipper Wales successful the World Cup aft starring the broadside successful the 20-9 triumph implicit England 2 weeks ago.

Hooker Dewi Lake was skipper successful the decision astatine Twickenham, with Adam Beard taking implicit the enactment erstwhile the hooker was forced disconnected injured.

Dragons fastener Ben Carter partners his erstwhile clubmate Will Rowlands, who volition triumph his 25th headdress to unafraid his aboriginal eligibility for Wales erstwhile helium joins Racing 92 adjacent season.

Those playing nine rugby extracurricular of Wales are present required to person 25 caps to correspond their state aft the fig was dropped from 60.

That regularisation is the crushed centre Joe Hawkins, who is moving to Exeter from Ospreys, is ineligible for Wales having lone played 5 internationals.

Rowlands was available for the summertime fixtures and subsequently the World Cup due to the fact that his registration volition "still beryllium held successful Wales during this time".

Will Rowlands played his 24th planetary erstwhile helium faced England successful Cardiff successful August 2023

Gatland's message

Wales unfastened the World Cup run against Fiji successful Bordeaux connected 10 September earlier further radical games against Portugal, Australia and Georgia.

Lake, Ryan Elias, Taine Plumtree, Faletau and Anscombe are wounded concerns up of the tournament.

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"Preparations person gone well," said Gatland.

"We're pleased with the full squad. We're trying to physique immoderate extent wrong the squad and there's been a large atmosphere.

"In the archetypal mates of games what was truly pleasing for maine was the physicality we brought and the mode we defended.

"There are inactive things for america to enactment connected successful presumption of being overmuch much accurate. There's been a batch of learning from that 2nd England crippled and hopefully we enactment that into signifier against South Africa. There's different accidental for this radical of 23 players to enactment their manus up earlier we prime the satellite cupful squad.

"We're expecting assurance and physicality from South Africa. They don't marque a batch of mistakes. It's a precise experienced squad for them.

"But we've got a large accidental to spell retired determination successful beforehand of a location assemblage and nutrient immoderate of the bully things that we did successful some the games against England.

"We conscionable request to marque definite we play for 80 minutes and are close for 80 minutes."

Wales squad to look South Africa: L Williams; Cuthbert, Grady, J Williams, Dyer; Biggar, Hardy; Domachowski, Dee, Assiratti, Carter, Rowlands, Lydiate, Morgan (capt), Wainwright.

Replacements: Parry, N Smith, H Thomas, Teddy Williams, Basham, Tomos Williams, Llewellyn, C Evans.