SEVEN VIE FOR NEW CAPS, MARK TAYLOR CAPTAIN

“Mark Taylor is a very senior player in our squad,” said Ruddock. “He has the total respect of both the players and the management and he is the ideal guy to help bring on some of the young players on this tour. Mark trained with us throughout the Six Nations and was a major part of the squad. He has a very specific role to play on this tour and I am sure he will be very successful at it.

“I have chosen not to reinstall Colin Charvis as captain so that he can concentrate on playing and rediscovering his Autumn Series form after missing the entire Six Nations campaign through injury. The rationale for this tour is three fold. We want to be competitive and we have selected players who are capable of gaining two victories in the style we have got accustomed to.

“We must have continuity and a strong element of cohesion within the team and that is why we are taking all the current squad players available to us in order that those players continue to develop as international rugby players. We are also looking at the future and building towards 2007 with the introduction of a number of new players who will learn a huge amount from the tour.”

Ruddock commented on each of the uncapped players in the squad: “Ben Broster of Saracens has trained with us regularly during the past year. We have tracked his fitness and performance levels and he has made good improvements in both areas. He was particularly impressive against an outstanding Leicester front row in Saracens’ recent Zurich Premiership win. He’s got good experience now in and is technically an excellent scrummager on the tight-head – a position where we don’t have a huge amount of strength in depth – so we are hoping he will show us that he can step up to play at international level on the tour.

“Matthew Rees has been impressive over a number of seasons at Pontypridd, the Warriors and now with the Scarlets and has had a good run of Celtic League and Heineken Cup games this season which has allowed him to grow in stature. He is a great prospect looking ahead to the World Cup.

“Rhys Thomas too has caught our eye recently with his performances for the Blues – he has got a lot of maturity and skill for a young man. He certainly has the potential to play international rugby so we want to get him into the environment and see how he adapts.

“In the backs, Matthew Jones and Chris Czekaj have both stood out amongst a great Under 21 team this season. Matthew has had a fantastic season with the Ospreys and has all the attributes to become a top flight outside half while Chris has a few regional games under his belt now and has the physical form to play top international rugby. They will both be looking to make an impression next month.

“Both Tal Selley and Richie Pugh toured with us last summer. Tal scored an outstanding hat-trick against the Dragons last weekend and has got a huge amount of pace.

Wales play the USA at Rentschler Field, East Hartford on June 4 and Canada at York University, Toronto on June 11.


Mark TAYLOR (SALE SHARKS) CAPTAIN
DoB: 27.02.73.  6’1″  13st 10lbs
International record: 49 caps (W 22, L 26, D 1; 55 pts – 11T)

Kevin MORGAN (DRAGONS)
DoB: 23.02.77.  5’10”  13st 4lbs
International record: 32 caps (W19, L13: 40 pts – 8T)

Chris CZEKAJ (BLUES)
DoB: 14.12.85. 6’3″ 15st 12lbs
International record: Uncapped

Craig MORGAN (BLUES)
DoB: 26.09.78.  5’11” 14st 0lbs
International record: 9 caps (W 2, L 7; 10 pts – 2T)

Tal SELLEY (SCARLETS)
DoB: 20.04.80. 6’0″ 14st 3lbs
International record: Uncapped

Rhys WILLIAMS (BLUES) 
DoB: 23.02.80. 5’10” 13st 4lbs
International record: 43 caps (W 20, L 22, D 1; 80 pts – 16T)

Ceri SWEENEY (DRAGONS)
DoB: 21.01.80. 5’10” 13st 7lbs
International record: 21 caps (W 9, L 12; 14 pts – 1C, 3PG, 1DG)

Matthew WATKINS (SCARLETS)
DoB: 02.09.78. 6’0″ 13st 11lbs
International record: 5 caps (W 1, L 4)

Matthew JONES (OSPREYS)
DoB: 04.04.84. 5’8″ 11st 10lb
International record: Uncapped

Nicky ROBINSON (BLUES)
DoB: 03.01.82. 6’1″ 14st 7lb
International record: 5 caps (W 2, L 3; 5 pts – 1T)

Michael PHILLIPS (SCARLETS)
DoB: 29.08.82. 6’3″ 14st 0lbs
International record: 4 caps (W 3, L 1; 5 pts – 1T)

Andrew WILLIAMS (BATH)  
DoB: 07.02.81. 5’10” 14st 2lb
International record: 1 cap (W 1)

Duncan JONES (OSPREYS)
DoB: 18.09.78. 6’0″. 17st 4lbs
International record: 17 caps (W 8, L 9)

John YAPP (BLUES)
DoB: 09.04.83. 6’2″. 19st 3lbs
International record: 5 caps (W 5)
  
Ben BROSTER (SARACENS)
DoB: 07.05.82. 5’11”. 16st 7lb
International record: Uncapped

Adam JONES (OSPREYS)
DoB: 08.03.81. 6’0″. 19st 0lbs
International record: 21 caps (W 13, L 8; 5 pts – 1T)

Mefin DAVIES (GLOUCESTER)
DoB: 02.09.72. 5’10”. 15st 0lbs
International record: 29 caps (W 14, L 15; 10 pts – 2T)

Rhys THOMAS (BLUES)
DoB: 23.04.82. 6’0″. 16st 6lbs
International record: Uncapped

Matthew REES (SCARLETS)
DoB: 09.12.07.80. 6’2″. 15st 11lbs
International record: Uncapped

Luke CHARTERIS (DRAGONS)
DoB: 09.03.83. 6’9″. 17st 3lbs
International record: 2 caps (W 1, L 1)

Brent COCKBAIN (OSPREYS)
DoB: 15.11.74. 6’8″. 18st 11lb
International record: 18 caps (W 10, L 8; 5 pts – 1T)

Ian GOUGH (DRAGONS) 
DoB: 10.11.76.  6′ 5″. 17st 4lbs
International record: 21 caps (W 11, L 10, D 1; 5 pts – 1T)

Robert SIDOLI (BLUES)
DoB: 21.06.79. 6’6″. 18st 2lbs
International record: 25 caps (W 11, L 14; 5 pts – 1T)

Colin CHARVIS (NEWCASTLE FALCONS)
DoB: 27.12.72. 6’2″. 16st 10lbs
International record: 75 caps (W3 5, L39, D1; 8 pts – 17T)

Ryan JONES (OSPREYS)
DoB: 13.03.81. 6’5″. 17st 10lbs
International record: 7 caps (W 5, L 2; 5 pts – 1T)

Alix POPHAM (LEEDS TYKES)
DoB: 17.10.79. 6’3″. 17st 4lbs
International record: 10 caps (W 5, L 5; 5 pts – 1T)

Richie PUGH (OSPREYS)
DoB: 10.08.83. 5’11”. 14st 7lbs
International record: Uncapped

Jonathan THOMAS (OSPREYS)
DoB: 27.12.82. 6’5″. 16st 10lbs
International record: 19 caps (W 10, L 9; 5 pts – 1T)

Robin SOWDEN-TAYLOR (BLUES)
DoB: 09.06.82. 6’1″. 15st 5lbs
International record: 1 cap (W 1)