Rugby League World Cup: Wales include two uncapped players in squad

Caleb Aekins scoring a try for Leigh Centurions against BatleyRex Features

Caleb Aekins scored a try as Leigh Centurions beat Batley to clinch promotion to Super League

Rugby League World Cup 2021

Hosts: England Dates:15 October to 19 November

Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer and online; Live commentary on Radio 5 Live and Sports Extra; Live texts and highlights on BBC Sport website & app

Wales have named two uncapped players for the Rugby League World Cup.

Leigh Centurions' Caleb Aekins and Kyle Evans from Wakefield Trinity have been included in the 24-player squad.

Coach John Kear's squad also contains brothers James and Ollie Olds, and two sets of twins - Ben and Rhys Evans along with Connor and Curtis Davies.

Ellior Kear captains a squad including Wales' most capped player and record try scorer Rhys Williams, but injured winger Regan Grace is absent.

Grace, who is set to leave St Helens to cross codes to join French rugby union side Racing 92, ruptured an Achilles tendon in August.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post by Regan Grace

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy and privacy policy before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Anthony Walker, who was ruled out of the 2017 World Cup in Australia after scans revealed an abnormality in his brain which had forced him to retire, is included.

New Zealand-born Aekins previously played for Penrith and Canberra in the NRL and featured in Leigh's win over Batley which secured promotion to Super League last weekend.

Wakefield Trinity's Evans made his professional rugby league debut only this season having crossed codes from rugby union at the age of 31.

Wales face the Cook Islands in their opening game of the tournament on Wednesday, 19 October in Leigh.

They face Tonga in St Helens on Monday 24 October before a final group game against Papua New Guinea in Doncaster seven days later.

The side will prepare for the tournament with a warm-up match against Lebanon on Saturday, 8 October at Swinton Lions' Heywood Road home in Sale.

Wales squad: Caleb Aekins (Leigh Centurions), Bailey Antrobus (York City Knights), Gavin Bennion (Rochdale Hornets), Joe Burke (West Wales Raiders), Chester Butler (Bradford Bulls), Mike Butt (Swinton Lions), Connor Davies (Workington Town), Curtis Davies (Whitehaven), Ben Evans (Bradford Bulls), Kyle Evans (Wakefield Trinity), Rhys Evans (Bradford Bulls), Will Evans (Whitehaven), Dan Fleming (Featherstone Rovers), Matty Fozard (Widnes Vikings), Dalton Grant (London Broncos), Tom Hopkins (Barrow Raiders), Elliot Kear (captain - Bradford Bulls), Rhodri Lloyd (Swinton Lions), James Olds (Valley Diehards), Ollie Olds (Valley Diehards), Josh Ralph (Mounties), Luis Roberts (Leigh Centurions), Anthony Walker (Bradford Bulls), Rhys Williams (Salford Red Devils).

Related topics