Wales Squad

Andrews was called into the Wales squad for the first time as one of only two uncapped players during the 2010 Invesco Perpetual autumn series, but did not feature.

He finally made his debut as a replacement for Ryan Bevington during the 2011 summer fixture with the Barbarians. He then gained his second cap against Australia in Wales’s 17th fixture of the year in December.

An experienced age-grade player, he gained Wales Under 16 and U18 honours and amassed 19 caps at U20 level – playing in the 2008 Junior World Championship when Wales reached the semi-finals on home soil; the 2008 U20 Six Nations and the 2009 U20 Six Nations.

He also captained Wales at the 2009 IRB Junior World Championship, missing the opener through injury before winning a further four caps.

Ryan made two appearances off the bench during the RWC 2011 campaign, against Namibia and Australia. He also came on as a second half replacement against the Wallabies in December.

He took up rugby at 13, cutting his teeth at Porthcawl where his natural aptitude for the game saw him picked up by the Ospreys from U16 level.

He went on to represent Wales at U18, U19 and Under 20 levels, playing in 29 of the possible 32 age-grade internationals during that time.

Renowned for his explosive pace, he memorably scored a 40metre try against New Zealand in the IRB U19 World Championships in Ireland.

While at the Ospreys Academy, Ryan played with his hometown club, Bridgend, in the Principality Premiership in 2008/09, winning Player of the Year for the Ravens.

He turned out for Aberavon in the Premiership in 2010/11 while also playing for the Ospreys. Ryan was called into the squad for the 2011 RBS 6 Nations, but did not feature.

Biggar returned to the Wales squad against Australia in December 2011 after an absence of 12 months.

Capped throughout the age grades, he made his full Wales debut as a teenager against Canada in the autumn series of 2008, scoring nine points after coming off the bench in a home win.

He then marked his first start against the same opposition on the summer tour of 2009 with a match winning tally of 22 points. His next start came when he earned the pivot’s role in the second Test against the All Blacks in Hamilton in June 2010.

A prolific points scorer for his region, he has been the first choice outside half at the Ospreys since 2008.

Bradley featured in all seven games during Wales’ RWC campaign, starting on three occasions.

He was captain of the Wales Under 19 side that won the 2005 Grand Slam and a year later skippered the team to sixth place in the IRB U19 World Championship in Dubai.

Bradley made his senior Wales debut as a 75th minute replacement against Scotland in 2009 in the 26-13 win – coming on for wing Shane Williams as Wales’ seventh and final replacement. He had been selected for the 2008 summer tour to South Africa only to be forced to withdraw through injury.

Domestically, Bradley graduated through the ranks of the WRU Blues Academy and Cardiff before becoming a mainstay of the Blues pack.

He was handed the Welsh captaincy for the two-Test tour of Japan in 2013 which contained nine uncapped players.

The Saracens prop forward made his international debut in 2010 as a second half replacement against Ireland but didn’t earn his second cap until Wales played their opening game of the 2012 RBS 6 Nations campaign at the Aviva Stadium against the same opposition.

Gill, who has represented Wales at Under 16, U18 and U21 level, began his career with the Cardiff Blues in 2006 on an academy contract.

The Neath teenager played his first tournament on the IRB circuit in the last round of the 2012/13 series in Twickenham.

He scored his first try against New Zealand in Wales' 45-5 defeat and followed that up with a try against Samoa in the Bowl semi-final in a tournament where Wales claimed the Bowl with a 19-7 win over France in the final.

 

James King is an U20 player for the Scarlets region. In January 2008 he was included in Coach Simon King's 36-man training squad ahead of Wales U18's international season, and played in the first capped match of the season against England U18 in March.

He is currently a member of the 2009 U20 Six Nations Squad.

Tavis made one RWC 2011 appearance, starting in the 81-7 win over Namibia. He was picked for the World Cup squad after being voted man of the match in the pre-World Cup warm-up game against Argentina.

Knoyle had moved up the pecking order of Welsh scrum-halves in 2009/10, earning himself a call-up to tour New Zealand in the summer of 2010. His reward was a first cap as a replacement in the opening international in Dunedin just three weeks after his 20th birthday.

A product of Glynneath, he won four Wales Under 20 caps in 2009 having previously played for Wales at Under 16 and Under 18 levels.

After coming through the ranks at Glynneath, he launched his senior career with Neath and made his Magners League debut for the Ospreys in April 2009, before switching to the Scarlets at the start of the 2009/10 campaign.

He made his sevens debut in the penultimate round of the 2012/13 round of the HSBC Sevens world series.

Scarlets Academy member Rob McCusker gained a development contract with the Llanelli Scarlets in 2006. Formerly of Mold RFC Youth, McCusker plays for Llanelli RFC when not called up by the Scarlets.

McCusker has represented Wales at U21 level; he was included in the squad selection for the IRB U21 World Championship in France in June 2006. McCusker was called into the Wales Sevens squad ahead of the Hong Kong leg of the 2006–2007 IRB Sevens World Series.

He remained in the squad for the closing tournaments of the series in England and Scotland, and scored a try in Wales's Cup semi-final defeat to Fiji at Twickenham.

McCusker also represented Wales Sevens at the first two stages of the 2007–2008 IRB Sevens World Series in Dubai and George, South Africa; Wales won the Bowl trophy in the latter leg of the tournament.

Prop Craig Mitchell is a member of the Ospreys Academy. He represents Neath RFC and has played for the Ospreys U20 team. 

Following knee surgery early in the 2006–2007 season, Mitchell was out of action until February 2007. He made an appearance for Swansea RFC in the Principality Premiership in March against Aberavon and also played for the Ospreys A side in the latter part of the season.

Mitchell has represented Wales at U16, U18, U19 and U21 levels; he has captained the U19 squad.

The deceptively quick teenager is one of the younger members of the 2011/12 Wales Sevens squad.

He is a member of Cardiff and the Blues Academy and can play either full back or fly half in the 15-a-side game.

He had his first taste of Sevens when playing for the the Welsh FIRA side in the summer of 2011 where he played in the Barcelona and Bucarest legs.

He began his playing career as an eight-year-old with CRICC and stayed there until the Under 16s. He then joined Blues South where he largely played fly half.

Tom became the youngest player to play in the Heineken Cup at 17 years, 292 days when he came on as a replacement for the Ospreys against Viadana on 12 December 2009.

In a career full of firsts, he became the youngest cap in Wales' history when he started on the wing against Italy in 2010. In doing so he surpassed Matthew Tait of England as the youngest ever to play in the Six Nations.

In June 2010 Prydie became Wales youngest try scorer at 18 years and 102 days against South Africa, overtaking the record set by Tom Pearson in 1891.

He represented Wales Sevens at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

 

Lou has represented Wales at U19 level and was part of the 'Grand Slam' winning U19 side in 2005–2006 and during the 2006–2007 season was called up to the Wales U20 squad for the 2007 U21 Six Nations.

He  joined the Scarlets as an 18-year-old in March 2006 when he signed a professional development contract with the region. After making just five appearances in 2006/07, he spent a month on loan at Rotherham in December 2007 where he played some first team rugby before returning to Wales.

He has subsequently become the first choice lock for the Scarlets alongside Dominic Day in the second row.

Lou was part of Wales’ 45 man training squad for the Rugby World Cup last year, but was not part of the final squad that travelled to New Zealand

Robinson burst on to the domestic scene in Wales in the 2010/11 season. Not only did he play for both the Wales Under 18s and Wales Under 20s in the same season, he also made his senior regional bow with Cardiff Blues.

He made his senior debut for Cardiff in the Principality Premiership against Llandovery on 2nd April 2011 and scored his first premiership try a week later against Newport.

He made his international bow in 2011 and scored on debut against the Barbarians at the Millennium Stadium. He was a member of the Wales touring side to Australia and played against the Brumbies in Canberra but didn't get a game in the three-Test series against the Wallabies.

He came through the grades with Pentyrch before joining Blues South U16s. Currently studying Biology at nightschool, his father Justin played for Pontypridd.

Jonathan Spratt made his debut for the Ospreys as a replacement against Munster in November 2006. He also made a replacement appearance ahead of the 2007–2008 season in the pre-season friendly against Bristol Rugby. 

Spratt represents Neath in the Principality Premiership when not on Ospreys duty. He has also played for the Ospreys U20 team in the Reebok Regional Championships and has represented Wales at U19 level.

Capped at international level after coming on as a second half replacement against the Barbarians on 2 June 2012, the Scarlets centre got his first taste of sevens rugby in the penultimate round of the 2012/13 HSBC World Series in Glasgow.

Also capped at Under 20 level. Warren started out with Furnace United and Llanelli but has also played for Llandovery in the Principality Premiership.

Lloyd Williams was called up to the Wales squad over the 2011 summer and became a valuable member of Wales’ RWC 2011 squad.

Lloyd impressed when he came on for Mike Phillips and he touched down against both Fiji and Namibia during the competition.

The son of Wales and Lions scrum half, Brynmor, Williams made an impression for the Blues in 2010/11 with his strength and line-breaking ability and he scored his first try for them against Aironi.

Selected for the Wales Under 20 squad for the 2009 IRB Junior World Championship after missing most of the season through injury, he shone out in Japan and was consequently selected in 2010 to receive one of the WRU’s core Sevens contracts. He went on to represent Wales at all six of the IRB Sevens World Series tournaments of that season.

The former Cowbridge Comprehensive student represented Wales at Under 16, 18 and 20s levels and he made his senior Blues debut against Leinster in Cardiff in March 2010.

Williams's try scoring exploits in the opening three rounds of the 2011/12 HSBC World Series were a major factor in Wales beginnng their campaign so well.

He finished 2011 with 14 tries from the opening leg of the series to sit third equal on the try scoring charts, just four behind New Zealand pace setter Frank Halai.

He has come through the grades with Aberdare where he began with the Minis before moving up to the Youth side. He is part of the Cardiff Blues Development squad.

He made his Wales Sevens dubut in Dubai 2010.

Having spent a successful season with Cardiff Blues during the 2012/13 season, Williams was named in the 32-man training squad for Japan. He returned to Sevens duty for the penultimate round of the 2012/13 world series in Glasgow.