Welsh rugby bosses outline why Wales can pick Will Rowlands and not Joe Hawkins

Joe Hawkins and Will Rowlands are both leaving Welsh clubs at the end of the 2022-23 season

Professional Rugby Board (PRB) bosses have outlined why Joe Hawkins is ineligible for Wales selection but Will Rowlands can still play.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland says he was allowed to pick Rowlands but not select Hawkins in his 54-man World Cup training squad.

Hawkins, who has five caps, moves to Exeter from Ospreys for the start of the 2023-24 season.

While Rowlands, who has 23 caps, will link up with Racing 92 from Dragons.

Those playing outside of Wales are now required to have 25 caps to represent their country after the number was dropped from 60 in February 2023.

Both players are currently underneath that threshold, but the PRB - which run the professional game in Wales and consists of representatives from the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and four regions - say Rowlands' registration will remain in Wales during the summer.

Wales have three World Cup warm-up games in August where Rowlands could make it up to the threshold required.

A PRB statement read: "The PRB does not intend to debate the detail of individual cases in public but, for clarity, it has confirmed Ospreys centre Joe Hawkins (who holds five caps) therefore has not been found to fit any criteria which would make him available for selection after signing up to play his rugby outside of Wales.

"Dragons lock Will Rowlands (who has 23 caps), who is also due to move outside of the country next season, does remain available for selection this summer as his registration will still be held in Wales during this time."

Exeter announced Hawkins had signed for them on 3 April. So after winning his first cap against Australia in November 2022, the PRB deemed he was ineligible as he had decided to leave Wales.

In contrast, centre Max Llewellyn is eligible for international selection despite leaving Cardiff for Gloucester at the end of the season.

This is because Llewellyn is uncapped and never been involved in a Wales training squad.

The PRB statement continued: "We reviewed Welsh rugby's senior player selection policy (SPSP) as part of the new six-year Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) signed in March by each of its four professional sides and the WRU reducing its headline 'cap-limit' to 25.

"The SPSP is intended to incentivise the majority of Welsh international talent, both potential and existing, to play their domestic rugby at one of the four Welsh regions by making this a key criteria of selection.

"The notable caveat to this eligibility policy - which means the national head coach will select Wales squad players exclusively from the pool of home talent available - is the exception made for any player who has been capped 25 times or more.

"Players with more than 25 caps can still be selected even if they play outside Wales, whereas players with fewer caps are not eligible in this circumstance.

"Call-ups for uncapped players already contracted before 31 March 2023 outside of Wales are allowed within the policy.

"As previously, any uncapped players who are called up to the national squad, but don't feature during a campaign, also become ineligible if they are re-contracted outside of Wales after the time of their 'call-up'.

"The new system does not make any exception for capped players, with fewer than 25-caps, leaving to play outside of Wales after 31 March 2023."

Gatland outlined the conversations he had held with Hawkins about his international ineligibility.

"He's made his decision to go to Exeter, I've spoken to him two or three times," said Gatland.

"We said that we thought he was a big part of our future and definitely in the 23 either in the midfield or at 10.

"We are disappointed that he's made that decision. He feels at the moment that going to play club rugby in England will be good for his development.

"I've got to respect that decision, but I know from a coaching perspective and a coaching team, we're disappointed to lose someone of his potential and his talent at least for the next few years.

"He felt that he was potentially undervalued a little bit. He's been offered a pretty significant deal and he's made that decision to move on."