Wales squad: Winners and losers as Steve Tandy ‘fills holes’ with ‘smart thinking’ while head coach ‘extends an olive branch’ out to re-called trio
Wales head coach Steve Tandy with an inset of Tommy Reffell
Following confirmation of Wales’ 39-man squad for November’s Nations Championship Tests, here is our take on the key winners and losers from Steve Tandy’s selection.
Winners
Uncapped trio
The clear winners from Tandy’s selection are the uncapped trio of Rhys Barratt, Che Hope and Aneurin Owen, who earned high praise from the head coach.
“With Che, he’s a really exciting talent and he’s been outstanding for the Dragons,” said Tandy. “Rhys has been consistent and he’s a young loosehead that’s coming through; great around the park and great footballing ability too.
“Aneurin’s been so consistent; you have to keep looking at what he’s done week-in, week-out,” he added. “I’ve spoken to a lot of people about him, how consistent he is and his attitude to work.
“It’s a really exciting opportunity for those guys to step up and for us as coaches to work with them.”
Their selections certainly fit Tandy’s desire to continually evolve the squad and continue on the progress they’ve made in his tenure, but they also fill key holes around the park. Barratt’s inclusion gives Wales yet another promising loosehead to add to their growing stock in this department, and he comes in at a time where there are concerns over Rhys Carre as well (who we’ll come onto), while Hope also gives Wales another strong option at scrum-half as they look to ease their reliance on Tomos Williams in the long term. Owen also comes into the squad at a time where the centre spots, both of them at that, are up for grabs and with Ben Thomas injured as well.
Their form for Cardiff and the Dragons warranted a call-up, but it’s also smart thinking from Tandy.
Injury returners
Quintet Liam Belcher, Tomas Francis, Archie Griffin, Louie Hennessey and Dafydd Jenkins return to the side this campaign after missing the July Tests through injury, and it comes as a timely boost for Tandy too. Belcher, Francis and Griffin all add depth to the front-row as Wales look to build set-piece foundations, particularly at the scrum, while Jenkins also brings his leadership qualities to the group alongside fellow generals Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake.
Hennessey is arguably the most interesting one, though. The 22-year-old Bath back has yet to feature this season due to the same injury that saw him miss the mid-year Tests, but yet gives Wales’ attack a very different and interesting dynamic. His size certainly adds a bit of bulk to the backline unit, which fits in nicely alongside the likes of Eddie James too, but his ability to float between centre and wing also gives Tandy some flexibility within his selection. Hennessey is also the right age profile to lock down a spot for the long-term and become a major player in this group moving forward.
Recalled men
Tandy has also extended an olive branch to Taine Basham, Seb Davies and Rio Dyer, who all come back into the Test side after lengthy absences.
“Very, very impressed,” he explained of back-rower Basham. “I thought Taine was really impressive at the end of last season, and he’s kicked on. I spoke to him at the back end of last year because he was probably unlucky (to miss out on the squad) but we have a lot of depth in the back-row. But it’s really pleasing for Taine; he’s a great character and it’s a great opportunity for him.”
“Rio’s taken on his feedback and then with some of his aerial contest and work rate, some of the things we’ve looked at,” he added of Dyer. “He thoroughly deserves his recall.”
The trio have all spent extended spells in the Test wilderness, with Basham’s last cap coming in the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Dyer last featuring in the 2025 Test against South Africa and Davies last donning the red jersey in the 2022 Six Nations, but again they all slot into key positional areas. Basham adds further depth to an already-strong back-row unit, Davies adds some bulk and size to their lock stock and Dyer gives Tandy an extra lick of pace out wide too.
If they get back into the side and perform well, they could cement a spot, which is exactly what Tandy will be after.
Rhys Carre
Would normally be an assumed member of the wider Wales squad, given his quality and influence on the side, but he is still yet to play a game this season due to a hamstring injury. It’s probably telling of his impact in the squad that he’s in despite that concern and reflects his position in Tandy’s head both in the here and now but also with one eye on the World Cup next year.
Carre will only be an asset if he does take to the field and could give Wales a real leg-up in this upcoming campaign.
Dragons
Some love for the Dragons, who have seen their promising start to the season rewarded with six inclusions.
It’s not been easy for the Newport-based side in recent years, but their run of two wins, a draw and a loss from their opening four games in all competitions has pushed a number of their players right into the Test mix, which potentially might not have happened if they hadn’t started the season off so strongly.
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This will certainly leave Filo Tiatia beaming.
Losers
Tommy Reffell
One of the more eyebrow-raising omissions from the squad was in-form Leicester man Tommy Reffell, but it seems he has picked up a knock while on club duty.
“Tommy’s unavailable to us with injury, so he’s not in the selection mix,” Tandy explained. “The physios are speaking to Leicester, so we’re a bit unclear on that at the minute.”
This will come as a huge blow to the head coach, with Reffell starting the new season in brilliant fashion. The Tigers flanker has been one of the standout back-rowers in the PREM this year, alongside clubmate and Wales squad inclusion Aaron Wainwright, and was again looking like the supreme jackal threat that pushed him into the Test picture in the first place.
Wales can soften the blow with their stacked back-row contingent, but there is no denying Reffell would have made them even stronger.
Taulupe Faletau
Another back-rower that was unlucky to miss out on selection was Taulupe Faletau, but Tandy insists he is not frozen out.
“Toby, in fairness, has been out for a while, but it’s amazing what he can do,” said the head coach. “We’re not ruling anyone out longer-term, but it was great to see him back in.”
The Cardiff forward only returned to the field this weekend after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, so it feels like Tandy is just giving him a chance to get a decent string of games together before bringing him back into the mix. However, he has also called in both Hennessey and Carre, who are yet to feature at all this year; but given Faletau’s history on the injury front, it feels like the right call for the time being.
Olly Cracknell
One of the more unlucky omissions from the squad is Olly Cracknell, especially considering his form for the Tigers. Cracknell has again been a real standout for Leicester in the back-row, be it at six or at eight, becoming a focal point in the tight with his carrying as well as adding punch to their defence. There is no denying he would have done the same for Wales this November if called in.
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But he is probably a victim of their strong back-row depth with the likes of Wainwright, James Botham and Kane James also able to cover eight.
Macs Page
The 21-year-old Scarlets man is one of the most exciting talents in Welsh rugby right now, but he will have to bide his time for a maiden Test cap after missing out on the squad this time around. A call-up this time around would have certainly made sense; he has started the new season in good touch with four tries in four appearances on the wing and again gives Tandy that extra bit of flexibility with his ability to cover centre as well, but Tandy has some good options in his outside backs unit at the moment and it seems Page will just have to wait a little while longer.
He will certainly win a cap in the near future, though.
Elliot Dee
He’s been in red-hot form at the start of the new season, but Elliot Dee misses out on the initial Wales squad. It tells a lot about the way he’s going that he sits top of the URC try-scoring charts right now with five tries from three games, numbers a winger would be proud of let alone a hooker, but Tandy seems to be giving others a shot this time around.
Wales’ hooker chart is dominated by the totemic Lake, who is among the best in the world in that position, so it’s almost a shootout for the spots underneath him, and unfortunately Dee just misses out on that group.
