Wales unveil Autumn squad

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    Wales head coach Warren Gatland has unveiled his 33-man squad to contest the 2010 Invesco Perpetual Autumn Series next month.

    Gatland’s troops face a triple dose of Southern Hemisphere competition with Australia, South Africa and New Zealand all gracing the Millennium Stadium in November.

    Ospreys trio Shane Williams, James Hook, Richard Hibbard and Gethin Jenkins, Tom Shanklin and Martyn Williams, from the Blues, all return to the squad after missing the summer tour of New Zealand.

    There are two surprise inclusions with Cardiff prop Scott Andrews and Scarlets wing George North the only two uncapped players in the squad.
    Happy

    Gatland, who has just penned a contract extension with the WRU which will keep him at the helm of the national side until 2015, will name his captain on the day of the series opener against Australia on November 6.

    “We will assess form and pick our team and then name the captain, it has to be in that order, but there is little to suggest to us that it will not be Ryan again, he needs a little more game time, but we are more than happy with what he offers in a leadership capacity,” said Gatland.

    “It has been good to see some of our senior players who we missed out on the summer tour back and fully fit for their Regions who have acquitted themselves reasonably well in Europe.

    “And to be able to select a fully fit Shane Williams, James Hook or Gethin Jenkins is a big lift for us.

    “Scott Andrews has been doing well technically, physically he is in good shape, we have had our eye on him at the Blues and he has been in and around the squad for a while.

    “George North is only young but really set the start of the season on fire with his form. He is a big physical player, last time I saw a pair of thighs like that was on some of the Samoans back in New Zealand.

    “He’s carrying an injury at the moment but hopefully he’ll be back in the next few weeks and will benefit from the experience of being around the national squad.”

    Wales face the Wallabies in just over a fortnight and Gatland hopes the nation will get behind his squad as the countdown to 2011 World Cup begins in earnest at the Millennium Stadium.

    Strength

    “Australia have been devastating at times so far this season, in 2011 (at the RWC) I think they are going to be firing,” added Gatland.

    “This is a really big game for us, we were disappointed last year that we didn’t do as well as we can against them but we have a few big players back this year.

    “From our squad the only really absentee is Jamie Roberts who is not available to us but apart from him we have been able to select from a position of strength.

    “So we are really looking forward to and are excited about Australia. They will be well prepared after a good Tri Nations and facing the All Blacks in Hong Kong before they arrive, but we have a good couple of weeks to work hard and get up and ready.

    “I hope the welsh public come out and support us and really get behind us now, the Millennium Stadium at capacity makes a huge difference to the players and if we can fill stadium it will be a real boost for us.”

    Wales squad:

    Forwards: Gethin Jenkins, Paul James, Adam Jones, John Yapp, Scott Andrews, Matthew Rees, Huw Bennett, Richard Hibbard, Alun-Wyn Jones, Bradley Davies, Deiniol Jones, Ian Gough, Dan Lydiate, Jonathan Thomas, Ryan Jones, Sam Warburton, Martyn Williams, Rob McCusker.

    Backs: Mike Phillips, Richie Rees, Tavis Knoyle, Stephen Jones, Dan Biggar, James Hook, Andrew Bishop, Jonathan Davies, Tom Shanklin, Shane Williams, Leigh Halfpenny, Will Harries, George North, Lee Byrne, Tom Prydie.