Wales hand four uncapped players debut call-ups for Barbarians clash at Twickenham

Steve Tandy has handed four uncapped players their first Wales call-ups for Saturday’s fixture against the Barbarians at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, with the match serving as the opening fixture of Wales’s summer programme ahead of the Nations Championship.

Cardiff loosehead Rhys Barratt, Ospreys tighthead Ben Warren, Dragons lock Ryan Woodman and Dragons back-row Harrison Keddie have all been named among the replacements, each in line to earn their first senior international appearance. Second-row Teddy Williams also returns to the squad following injury, while hooker Dewi Lake captains the side.

“I’m delighted for Rhys, Ben, Ryan and Harrison, who are all in-line to make their first senior appearance for Wales,” Tandy said. “The Barbarians will present a good challenge for us. They have lots of skilful players and I’m sure it’ll be a high pace game with lots of offloads. That in turn will be a great preparation for us as we head into the Nations Championship and playing Fiji the week after.”

The Barbarians arrive at Twickenham led by double World Cup-winning Springbok scrum-half Faf de Klerk, who captains the invitational side a week after helping South Africa defeat them in Gqeberha. The Barbarians squad features internationals from 11 different nations, including fellow South African Vincent Koch. Wales legend George North is named on the bench in what is expected to be the final match of his professional rugby career.

Tandy indicated the fixture fits into a broader plan to build momentum from the Six Nations. “We’ve had a good block of training building towards this game and are excited to get our summer underway on Saturday,” he said. “We’re looking to pick up where we left off in the Six Nations and continue to build and improve as a group.”

Wales XV: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Eddie James, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 1 Gareth Thomas, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 3 Dillon Lewis, 4 Ben Carter, 5 Teddy Williams, 6 Taine Plumtree, 7 Jac Morgan, 8 Aaron Wainwright.

Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Ryan Woodman, 20 Harrison Keddie, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Mason Grady.