Colin Charvis, Martyn Williams, Robin McBryde and Stephen Jones have been given the task of acting as leaders on the three week trip as Welsh rugby follows a tried and tested route used by many other sports.
‘The reason for naming four tour captains is because we are trying to grow leadership qualities within the squad. It gives us greater options and means the work load off the field can be shared around four senior players,’ said Hansen.
‘We would like to have 30 natural leaders within the group. This is a start of a process we hope will lead to everyone taking greater responsibility both on and off the field and something we have been working on throughout the season.
‘As well as the four captains, we will also have a line-out leader and a midfield leader to join them in forming a senior player group that will be able to not only consult with the management team, but also provide a ready made point of contact for the younger squad members.
‘This is a system that has been used very successfully in a number of other sports, notably with the Australian women’s hockey team. They used to have anything up to five captains in their squad.’
‘When we do name a Test captain we will also have a number of capable lieutenants backing him up, players that some of the less experienced members of the team can turn to at any time.
While Hansen has named a squad of 30 for the two match tour, there are a number of players who weren’t considered. Among those are: Steve Williams (Northampton Saints), Gavin Thomas (Bath), Richard Parks (Pontypridd), Martyn Madden (Llanelli), Neil Jenkins (Pontypridd), Leigh Davies (Llanelli), Matthew Watkins (Llanelli), Craig Morgan (Cardiff), Dafydd James (Bridgend).
‘We weren’t able to consider a number of players for a variety of reasons. Some are ruled out through injury, others because of personal reasons and some because we want them to stay at home and work on their weaknesses,’ added Hansen.
WALES SUMMER TOUR 2003
Forwards: Iestyn Thomas (Llanelli), Gethin Jenkins (Pontypridd), Ben Evans (Cardiff), Adam Jones (Neath), Robin McBryde (Llanelli – captain), Mefin Davies (Pontypridd), Gareth Williams (Bridgend), Robert Sidoli (Pontypridd), Gareth Llewellyn (Neath), Dafydd Jones (Llanelli), Michael Owen (Pontypridd), Vernon Cooper (Llanelli), Martyn Williams (Cardiff – captain), Colin Charvis (Swansea – captain), Gareth Delve (Bath), Alix Popham (Leeds Tykes).
Backs: Dwayne Peel (Llanelli), Ryan Powell (Cardiff), Gareth Cooper (Bath), Stephen Jones (Llanelli – captain), Ceri Sweeney (Pontypridd), Iestyn Harris (Cardiff), Mark Taylor (Swansea), Tom Shanklin (Saracens), Sonny Parker (Pontypridd), Rhys Williams (Cardiff), Mark Jones (Llanelli), Gareth Thomas (Bridgend), Jamie Robinson (Cardiff), Garan Evans (Llanelli).
