Wales have excluded Joe Hawkins from their provisional practice squad for the Rugby World Cup. The Ospreys center has made five international appearances since his international debut last November, but his decision to join Exeter next season has raised doubts about the 20-year-old’s suitability. RWC 2023 fans can buy Wales Vs Georgia Tickets from our website.
Hawkins does not meet the 25 caps clause for players doing their trade outside of Wales and the Welsh Rugby Union had to decide if he signed for Exeter prior to his debut. Had he done so, Hawkins would still have been eligible for international rugby because he was an unrestricted player.
Forward Will Rowlands has been included in a 54-player training squad for the tournament, which kicks off in France in September. Rowlands, who will leave the Dragons in December for Racing 92 Paris, has won 23 caps and could reach the qualifying mark in pre-Rugby World Cup friendlies against England and South Africa.
Departing Players Included in the Wales RWC Squad
There was no room for Scarlets mainstay Wyn Jones, who was part of the British and Irish Lions team in 2021, while Ospreys center Owen Watkin also missed. Ten players were named with no limits in the squad, including Montpellier prop Henry Thomas, who won seven caps for England, with his most recent appearance in 2014.
Corey Hill has also been drafted following a recent change in eligibility criteria for expelled players. The 31-year-old, who can play both boxing and blindfold, earned his final cap for Wales in 2021 and is now trading for Yokohama Canon Eagles in Japan.
Lee Halfpenny, who is due to leave the Scarlets at the end of the season, is named to the team along with Gareth Anscombe, who missed the Six Nations with an injury. Anscombe faces semi-final competition from Dan Biggar and Owen Williams, while Sam Costelow was also named. Wales will start their Rugby World Cup campaign against Fiji in Bordeaux on September 10, with Australia, Georgia and Portugal also included in their roster.
Welsh rugby is in chaos with Warren Gatland’s Rugby World Cup plans
Preparations for the World Cup in Wales have just begun, with less than 100 days left before the tournament in France, and Warren Gatland’s training team is not yet fully formed.
But even now, head coach Gatland’s plans are falling apart. Three of his most experienced players sensationally retired from international rugby on the eve of the world show. Two more will not play on the game’s biggest stage, but for completely different reasons. When the whirlwind Six Nations for Wales ended earlier this year. Gatland would immediately turn its attention to the Rugby World Cup.
If the New Zealander at this stage had scored in the 23rd round of his team’s first match against Fiji in Bordeaux on September 10. There would certainly have been more than decent chances that the names of Alan Win Jones, Justin Tipurik, Rhys Webb, Joe Hawkins and Rhys Carre would be there.
None of the above will now be in France. The British & Irish Lions trio Jones, Tipurik and Webb retired from Test Rugby. Promising young center Hawkins was deemed unsuitable after a move to Exeter was confirmed. Last week, Carré was brutally fired from the Gatland training team for failing to complete his assigned tasks.
All this leads to considerable confusion Chaos reigns. A camp in Wales is not the happiest place right now. Gatland is facing one of the biggest challenges of his brilliant coaching career to get the ship back on track. If he doesn’t, trouble awaits in the rocky French waters.
The decision by Jones, Tipurik and Webb to retire and not play in the Rugby World Cup just weeks after being included in Gatland’s extended training squad speaks volumes not only about the team’s current state, but also about the broader Welsh rugby landscape.
Rugby World Cup – Scandals and Incidents Impacting WRU
All three were excellent servants. There were expectations that Jones, at the age of 37, would go to the World Championship and then retire. Tipurik, who is only 33 years old, would certainly be a starter in France. During the Six Nations, Webb expressed his strong desire to return to the Gatland starting XI after being excluded by the previous head coach, Wayne Pivak.
He did it against Italy and was immediately man of the match in Rome. Three months later, he abandoned Welsh rugby to focus on moving the club overseas. What a depressing state of play, blaming the shocking state of play in Wales rather than a player who quite rightly prioritizes his own earning potential in what could be a short career.
The Wales Rugby Union leadership should face questions regarding why Jones, Tipurik, and Webb made the decision to leave. Many of the reasons are related to the actions of the WRU and not to Gatland. Wales will remember the 2022/23 season for all the wrong reasons. Contractual uncertainty and financial turmoil led to the threat of a strike by a Wales player in the Six Nations match against England. After the loss to Georgia, the WRU fired Pivak as head coach and brought back Gatland to replace him.
The WRU experienced a sexism and misogyny scandal that resulted in the resignation of former chief executive Steve Phillips. There were several more high-profile incidents. The harsh reality is that the poor management of Welsh rugby (and the four regions of the country also not without fault) has led to the fact that it is now more attractive – both on the field and financially – to play French second division rugby. than to pull the Three Feathers.
Potential Move of Rhys Webb to Biarritz
Biarritz are top contenders for signing scrimmage linebacker Webb. Ross Moriarty has already abandoned the Rugby World Cup and joined Brive, who has taken off from the TOP-14. Prop Thomas Francis will go to the Rugby World Cup but is ready to leave the Osprey for Provence when the tournament is over.
Gatland has already acknowledged that the Wales jersey is no longer what it used to be. This should be of great concern to those in the corridors of power in Welsh rugby. One of Wales’ greatest strengths in the past has been the strength of their collective will. This took them to the last four of the 2019 Rugby World Cup where they just missed out on the final.
Four years later, a repeat performance at this stage looks unlikely. Why did Jones and Tipurik decide to give up on the eve of the tournament? Jones said now is the right time for him to leave, but is that really the case? It’s perhaps more likely that he realized that his distinguished playing career could have ended with him missing out on Gatland’s final Rugby World Cup team. Given that Will Rowlands and Corey Hill are now back to add to second-row resources.
Jones’s Media Avoidance
Jones’s recent spells with the Barbarians have seen him avoiding appearances in front of the media, raising curiosity about the reasons behind his decision to split up now. When MailSport tried to speak to him after the Barbarians faced Swansea, Jones replied: Go away. Absolutely not. You are the least. Charming.
Jones never liked the media and was under no obligation to talk about the memorial day. But the St. Helen incident was not isolated. During the Six Nations, Jones’ public relations team invited members of the press to a launch event for his new rum venture, where he sarcastically told reporters, You’d come to the opening of the envelope. leader of Wales and the Lions.
Surprise Retirement Decision
He is undoubtedly the best player in the country of the professional era and possibly the best player of all time. Unfortunately, his recent behavior with the media, which constantly praises his outstanding achievements, has been far from mutually respectful. A notable exception was his appearance at a press conference during the Six Nations in the midst of a strike threat.
From blocking journalists on social media to throwing towels at TV cameras to keep them from filming him, Jones’ curmudgeon has vanished. Understandably, a number of his former Wales teammates are also fed up with his behaviour. Jones took many by surprise with his decision to retire.
Welsh rugby sources indicated that Alan Wyn Jones does what Alun Wyn Jones wants when he confirmed his departure on Instagram. The Osprey, a homegrown team that Jones has represented throughout his career but has now moved on from, WRU and WRU deserved better.
Jones did them both an excellent service, but he also benefited greatly from Welsh rugby and their employment of him. Without Jones, Wales will now have to move on. Gatland is bless at castle. Adam Bird and Rowlands are likely to be his starting pair, with Hill also in the mix. In the absence of Tipurik, Gatland can turn to young starting wingers Jack Morgan and Tommy Reffell who are good players.
A back row couple could have the same impact in France as England’s Tom Curry and Sam Underhill of the Kamikaze Kids made at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. There is undoubtedly talent on the Gatland team, but after the most tumultuous season in the WRU’s 142-year history, the challenge facing the team is not just to make the most of the players, but to bring everyone back together again.
Gatland’s Focus on Rugby World Cup Team Preparation
Gatland is a master at this, and no doubt everyone will sing from the same hymn sheet, starting with Fiji, which, on paper, can be frustrating. There is a lot of work to done in Welsh rugby on and off the field. Gatland should focus on getting his team into top physical shape in the coming months, starting with training camps in the Vale of Glamorgan and then in Switzerland.
In the boardroom, the WRU and the regions should plan the way forward. Which does not involve the best players in the country either choosing to move overseas or leaving Test Rugby altogether. This process will begin with the much-needed appointment of a new independent WRU chairman and then a new CEO.
The current interim CEO, Nigel Walker, continues to run for the position. Some point out that the four regions of Wales nearly survived the rugby financial crisis. While in England both Worcester and the Wasps disappeared, followed by the London Irish.
But the fact that the Dragons, Cardiff, Ospreys and Scarlets are still afloat is no reason to be happy. And this is not an excuse for WRU and regional leadership. Poor management earlier this year saw an exodus of Welsh talent to England, France and Japan. And left regions with meager gaming budgets and small teams.
Favorable Draw and Improvements
As a result, it will be difficult for them to compete in both the Rugby Championship and Europe next season. And similar woes could befall Wales in France in just a few months. Gatland must bypass the wagons. If he can do that, it will be one of his finest achievements and it is more than realistic for Wales to reach the quarter-finals. Fiji is a potential banana peel. But winning it practically guarantees a playoff spot, regardless of what happens against Eddie Jones’ Australia.
If Wales make it into the bottom eight, they will most likely play either England or Argentina, which could also be a winning match. Wales are in the easy half of the draw. It’s not all doom and gloom. And the Gatland side traditionally improves the longer they spend together. They have to because they start long.
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