Ex-league star gets shock Wales call-up and could debut against Australia despite no competitive union experience
New Wales wing Regan Grace and front-row Keiron Assiratti.
Warren Gatland has been forced into making a change to his starting line-up against the Springboks, while the Wales head coach has called up an ex-rugby league star for the July internationals.
Wales kick off their mid-year Tests with a one-off clash against South Africa at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday after which they will head down under for two games against the Wallabies and one against the Queensland Reds.
Having already named his squad for the internationals and his matchday 23 to face the back-to-back World Cup winners, Gatland has been forced into changes.
Regan Grace called up
Ahead of the Test against South Africa, James Botham was called into the group as an injury replacement for Jac Morgan while late call-up James Ratti could earn his debut off the bench after being named in the matchday squad on the same day of his arrival in camp.
Now, Wales have suffered a further setback with winger Keelan Giles released from the squad due to a groin injury sustained in training, and in his place, Gatland has called up ex-St Helens rugby league star Regan Grace.
It is somewhat of a surprising call from the Wales head coach as Grace has not yet played a competitive rugby union match since switching codes in 2022.
He signed a deal to join French Top 14 club Racing 92 when making the code hop but never played for the side after rupturing his Achilles in his final St Helens game. A further setback meant that he was released from his contract with Racing 92 at the end of the 2022/23 season.
Wales rookie: ‘Playing the Springboks at Twickenham is what you dream of’
Still focused on making the code switch work, Grace linked up with Premiership outfit Bath where he completed his rehabilitation before signing a deal with the club ahead of next season. Since heading to the West Country side, he has played just two friendly matches for the team but has yet to feature in a competitive game.
He could now make his Test debut against the Wallabies in July.
Change for South Africa
Meanwhile, Gatland has been forced into making a change in his starting line-up to face the Springboks with prop Henry Thomas withdrawing from the Test match through injury.
The tighthead sustained a foot injury in training and has been replaced by Keiron Assiratti in the side, while Harri O’Connor comes into the matchday squad as the replacement front-row.
Revised Wales team v South Africa
Wales: 15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Mason Grady, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Costelow, 9 Ellis Bevan, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 James Botham, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Ben Carter, 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Dewi Lake, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Kemsley Mathias, 18 Harri O’Connor, 19 James Ratti, 20 Mackenzie Martin, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Eddie James, 23 Jacob Beetham
Date: Saturday, June 22
Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London
Kick-off: 14:00 BST (13:00 GMT, 15:00 SA time)
Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Adam Leal (England)
TMO: Mark Patton (Ireland)
Coverage: BBC iPlayer, SuperSport, S4C