After his man of the match performance in the win over Perpignan in the Amlin Challenge Cup, Dragons back row Lewis Evans has been named in the 28 man Wales squad for the Dove Men Challenge clash against Australia at the Millennium Stadium on the 3rd December.
Lewis was named in the original squad to tour North America in 2009 but had to be withdrawn because of the Dragons’ Heineken Cup Play-off match against Calvisano.
He is one of 3 uncapped players named in the squad alongside Blues wing Alex Cuthbert and Scarlets full-back Liam Williams. Sam Warburton is retained as captain despite Matthew Rees, who was originally set to lead Wales in New Zealand before withdrawing through injury, returning to the squad.
Shane Williams, who has announced his retirement from international rugby, plays his final match in Welsh colours, but the game is also billed as a ‘homecoming’ for the Wales squad which boosted national pride by reaching the RWC semi-finals in New Zealand and is a re-match of the tournament’s third-placed play-off game, which saw the Wallabies victorious last month.
“As we have gone with the majority of our Rugby World Cup squad we have maintained continuity by selecting Sam again as captain for this game, but it is a significant boost for us to have someone of the experience and stature of Matthew Rees back in the squad which, in turn, means there is considerable competition in the hooker’s position with both Huw Bennett and Lloyd Burns also with us,”said Gatland.
“The fans have a chance to show the players how proud they are of them after their World Cup performances and it should be quite an occasion at the Millennium Stadium, especially with the Shane Williams factor thrown in, but we won’t be sitting back and soaking up the atmosphere - Shane will want to go out in style and this squad wants to, and needs to, get back to winning ways.
“We have another chance to beat a Southern Hemisphere team, which is always a yardstick by which we measure ourselves, we have the opportunity to avenge the play-off defeat in New Zealand, but we can also send a message to our Six Nations opponents next year, that our RWC performances should not be seen in isolation and this young squad will continue to be a force to be reckoned with as we build tothe next world cup in 2015.”
Welsh qualified players based overseas were not made available for selection.
Wales squad, Dove Men Challenge v Australia (alphabetical order)
FORWARDS: Scott Andrews, Huw Bennett, Ryan Bevington, Lloyd Burns, Luke Charteris, Bradley Davies, Ian Evans, Lewis Evans, Toby Faletau, Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones, Ryan Jones, Danny Lydiate, Matthew Rees, Justin Tipuric, Sam Warburton (Captain)
BACKS: Dan Biggar, Alex Cuthbert, Jonathan Davies, Leigh Halfpenny, Tavis Knoyle, George North, Rhys Priestland, Jamie Roberts, Liam Williams, Lloyd Williams, Scott Williams, Shane Williams
