Hansen will call the players into camp on each of the last three Mondays in January, but the coach is quick to point out players who remain outside the current list are still in contention for the final squad announcement at the beginning of February.
“Clearly a large percentage of the playing squad will come from this training group, but that doesn’t necessarily exclude anyone from outside it,” said Hansen. “There are players, Vernon Cooper and Richard Parks are a good example, who will remain within the good training environments of their regions but will be closely monitored.
“Dafydd James will be working away quietly while we keep a close eye on a shoulder injury which is casting doubt on his capacity to cope with international rugby at this stage. There are also a couple of injuries which will prevent the likes of Paul Jones and Gareth Delve from joining us.”
The uncapped members in the preliminary squad are Barry Davies, Richard Pugh, John Yapp, Ceri Jones, Peter Sidoli and James Merriman.
“For some, the training squad is about giving them a taste of what it is like to be part of the international set up and in other cases, we need to bring players into the fold to have a closer look at them,” added Hansen.
Wales preliminary 2004 RBS Six Nations training squad
Dwayne Peel
Iestyn Thomas
Michael Phillips
Robin McBryde
Stephen Jones
Dafydd Jones
Mark Taylor
Chris Wyatt
Mark Jones
Garan Evans
Matthew Watkins
Barry Davies
Gareth Cooper
Mefin Davies
Ceri Sweeney
Gethin Jenkins
Sonny Parker
Robert Sidoli
Kevin Morgan
Brent Cockbain
Gareth Thomas
Huw Bennett
Gavin Henson
Adam Jones
Shane Williams
Duncan Jones
Gareth Llewellyn
Jonathan Thomas
Richard Pugh
Gavin Thomas
Iestyn Harris
Gareth Williams
Jamie Robinson
John Yapp
Tom Shanklin
Martyn Williams
Rhys Williams
Ryan Powell
Craig Morgan
Hal Luscombe
Michael Owen
Nathan Brew
Peter Sidoli
Alix Popham
Ceri Jones
Colin Charvis
James Merriman
