Wales Go For Experience Against The Barbarians.
With the Pontypridd players in the Wales squad occupied on Sunday in the Parker Pen Shield final against Sale Sharks at Oxford, Wales coach Steve Hansen has named 15 players all previously capped for the match against the Barbarians next Wednesday (kick-off 7.15pm).
There will be a return for lock Steve Williams, who has been in the international wilderness since 1997, when he was playing for Cardiff.
Williams will be partnered by Neath skipper, the 65-times-capped Gareth Llewellyn.
Llanelli scrum half Dwayne Peel will take over Robert Howley as one of the five changes from the side that started against Scotland in Cardiff last month.
Hansen praised Neil Jenkins, the World’s top test scorer, who is on the replacements bench, saying: “Neil is as keen as mustard and in great nick.”
The team is: –
K Morgan (Swansea); R Williams (Cardiff), M Taylor (Swansea), A Marinos (Newport), C Morgan (Cardiff), S Jones (Llanelli), D Peel (Llanelli);
I Thomas (Ebbw Vale), R McBryde (Llanelli), C Anthony (Newport), S Williams (London Irish), G Llewellyn (Neath), G Thomas (Bath), M Williams (Cardiff), C Charvis (Swansea, capt).
Replacements: M Davies (Pontypridd), B Evans (Swansea), R Powell (Cardiff), N Jenkins (Cardiff), J Robinson (Cardiff) and two from – G Jenkins, R Sidoli, M Owen, R Parks (all Pontypridd).