Wales pick Sheedy and Lloyd for summer Test matches
WALES head coach Wayne Pivac has named five uncapped players in his squad for summer Test matches against Canada and Argentina.
Scarlets wing Tom Rogers, Ospreys prop Gareth Thomas and Dragons lock Ben Carter are among those included in a 34-man group, which includes Bristol backs Callum Sheedy and Ioan Lloyd.
Centre Jonathan Davies has been chosen as captain instead of Alun Wyn Jones.
Jones, who will lead the British and Irish Lions in South Africa, heads a 10-strong Wales contingent on that trip, with Pivac also missing the likes of Liam Williams, Dan Biggar, Ken Owens, Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau.
The Guinness Six Nations cham
pions host Canada in Cardiff on July 3, followed by two Principality Stadium games against Argentina.
Cardiff centre Ben Thomas and Dragons back-row forward Taine Basham complete the uncapped contingent, while there are recalls for the likes of Ross Moriarty and Josh Turnbull, who has not featured
for Wales since 2018, and Dragons scrum-half Rhodri Williams, who last played for his country in 2014.
Pivac said: “We are really looking forward to this summer, getting to work with this squad and the three home Tests that we will face.
“It is great that we are able to select five uncapped players in the squad.It is an opportunity, much like the autumn campaign last year, to get these players into the environment and to expose them to Test match preparation and in some cases Test match rugby.
“This summer isn’t just about the uncapped players, it is also about internationals gaining more experience. It is a chance for them to get more starts and appearances under their belt and to step into leadership roles, so it is going to be an important period for us.
“We will have a training camp in North Wales before returning to Cardiff for our three Tests”
Wales squad - backs: K Hardy (Scarlets), T Williams (Cardiff), R Williams (Dragons), C Sheedy (Bristol), J Evans (Cardiff), J Davies (Scarlets, capt), W Halaholo (Cardiff), N Tompkins (Saracens), B Thomas (Cardiff), H Amos (Cardiff), L Halfpenny (Scarlets), J Holmes (Dragons), O Lane (Cardiff), I Lloyd (Bristol), T Rogers (Scarlets).
» England have added Ed Robinson and Alex Codling to their coaching team for their summer series against the USA and Canada.
Robinson, an assistant at Championship side Jersey Reds, will return to Eddie Jones’ staff after serving as skills coach during the recent Six Nations.
He will help Jones run the attack following the recent departure of Simon Amor.
Codling will focus on the line-out and joins the national set-up after spells with England Under-20s, Harlequins and Ealing.