Welsh Rugby Union announces reduced 35-man training squad for second leg of Training Camp
Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has announced a reduced 35-man training squad for the second round of the training sessions due to start on Monday, July 18 in Spala, Poland. WRU has released the complete details of their shortened squad in a statement on their official
website on Thursday, July 14.
Yesterday, reports had started to surface that Wales national rugby union team head coach, Warren Gatland, had shortened his squad for their second training camp at Spala, Poland. However, there was no confirmation from the Union itself.
After the official statement it has been noted that Gatland has excluded 12 players from the squad that he originally announced for Wales as part of their 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) campaign.
The players excluded from the second round of the training camp include Jason Tovey, Richard Hibbard, Scott Andrews, Andrew Bishop, Ken Owens, Lou Reed, Richie Rees, Jonathan Thomas, John Yapp , Andy Powell, Gareth Delve and Dwayne Peel.
However, Gatland has urged players not to lose heart as they still have a chance of making it to the final squad for the 2011 RWC. He said, “The door is still very much open for those players who are not making this trip.”
Providing the details regarding the camp and its purpose, Gatland added, “This camp will have a strong focus on rugby whilst retaining the skills and conditioning elements of our first visit to Spala.”
Gatland further added that players will go through intense training sessions in small groups. He further added, “It will give us further opportunity to see more of some players in particular in and intense rugby environment, with the likes of Ryan Bevington,
Lloyd Burns, Justin Tipuric and Scott Williams all gaining an extra opportunity to show us their worth.”
The new Shortened Wales 35-man training squad announced on Thursday, July 14 includes,
Gethin Jenkins (Blues), Lloyd Burns (Dragons), Huw Bennett, Ryan Bevington, Adam Jones, Paul James (Ospreys), Matthew Rees (Scarlets), Craig Mitchell (Exeter Chiefs), Bradley Davies, Sam Warburton, Martyn Williams (Blues), Luke Charteris, Danny Lydiate,
Toby Faletau (Dragons), Ryan Jones, Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric (Ospreys), Josh Turnbull, Rob McCusker (Scarlets), Michael Phillips (Bayonne), Lloyd Williams (Blues), Tavis Knoyle (Scarlets), Jamie Roberts (Blues), James Hook (Perpignan), Jonathan Davies,
Stephen Jones, Rhys Priestland, Scott Williams (Scarlets) Gavin Henson (unattached), Leigh Halfpenny (Blues), Lee Byrne (ASM Clermont Auvergne), Aled Brew (Dragons), Shane Williams (Ospreys), George North, Morgan Stoddart (Scarlets).
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