Taulupe Faletau one of five players missing from Wales squad for Turkey trip

Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau is one of five players missing from the squad that will fly to Turkey for their latest Rugby World Cup training camp.

Faletau, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Owen Williams, Alex Cuthbert are the quintet that will be absent from the travelling group as Wales step up their preparations.

No details have been given as to why the players will not make the trip to Turkey, but injuries and personal reasons impacted their presence at the Switzerland camp.

Set to miss England game

According to BBC Sport, their absence from the latest camp means they will miss their opening World Cup warm-up fixture against England in Cardiff on August 5.

Warren Gatland’s side will then tackle England at Twickenham on August 12 and host South Africa on August 19 before they head to France for the global spectacle.

Wales are expected to announce their final 33-player squad for the global tournament in late August, with boss Gatland giving an update on how training is going.

“We are really pleased with how our two-week training camp has gone in Switzerland. The players worked extremely hard and made really good progress,” he said.

Taulupe Faletau has not been named in Cymru's 43-man squad that will travel to Twrci for a training camp next week.

The Cardiff number eight has been managing a calf problem and has recently welcomed another child to his family.

He will re-join the squad after the camp.

— Cardiff Rugby Life (@CardiffRugbyWeb) July 19, 2023

“As well as having the natural benefits from living at high altitude, players experienced temperatures in the mid-to late thirties (degrees centigrade) during our on-pitch sessions which will be good preparation for our next camp in Turkey.

“The 43 players travelling to Turkey are all available for selection for the first match against England on 5 August. Those not travelling remain in our wider training squad and will join back up with us on our return to Wales.

“We’ve decided to keep a larger group in our squad as we prepare for our three Vodafone Summer Series matches. We know injuries unfortunately can be picked up along the way, so it’s important to ensure that as wide a number of players as possible are up to speed with our plans.”

Wales kick off their Rugby World Cup pool campaign against Fiji on September 10 before facing Portugal, Australia and Georgia in their remaining matches.

Wales squad for Turkey camp

Forwards: Corey Domachowski, Kemsley Mathias, Nicky Smith, Gareth Thomas, Elliot Dee, Ryan Elias, Dewi Lake, Sam Parry, Keiron Assiratti, Tomas Francis, Dillon Lewis, Henry Thomas, Adam Beard, Ben Carter, Rhys Davies, Dafydd Jenkins, Will Rowlands, Christ Tshiunza, Teddy Williams, Taine Basham, Dan Lydiate, Jac Morgan, Taine Plumtree, Tommy Reffell, Aaron Wainwright

Backs: Gareth Davies, Kieran Hardy, Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Dan Biggar, Sam Costelow, Mason Grady, Max Llewellyn, George North, Nick Tompkins, Keiran Williams, Josh Adams, Rio Dyer, Cai Evans, Leigh Halfpenny, Louis Rees-Zammit, Tom Rogers, Liam Williams

Players missing: Taulupe Faletau, Joe Roberts, Johnny Williams, Owen Williams, Alex Cuthbert

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