Rugby World Cup 2023: Wales head coach Warren Gatland waits to name tournament captain
- Published
Hooker Ken Owens has played 90 internationals for Wales
Wales head coach Warren Gatland says he will select his World Cup captain closer to the start of the tournament after naming a 54-man training squad.
Scarlets hooker Ken Owens led the side during the 2023 Six Nations after Justin Tipuric and Dan Biggar led the squad under former coach Wayne Pivac.
"We haven't selected a captain for the World Cup," said Gatland.
"The good thing about that position at the moment is we've got a lot of opportunities."
Gatland has praised Owens' leadership during a troubled campaign on and off the field but admits the 36-year-old needs to establish himself as first-choice hooker with Ryan Elias, Dewi Lake and Elliot Dee coming back from injury.
"Three of those players have come back and haven't been involved for a while, there is going to be some real competition there," said Gatland.
"The first thing for Ken is he's got to earn his place and then when we start getting a little bit closer, we'll start thinking about a World Cup captain.
"I'm not sure it's appropriate to be naming one at the moment. I don't think we need to. He did a great job for us in the Six Nations in difficult circumstances.
"We know how respected he is in Welsh rugby and I'm pretty sure he's going to fight pretty hard for his place in the first instance."
Ken Owens and Wyn Jones (centre) are team-mates at the Scarlets
No room for Jones
Owens' Wales and British and Irish Lions team-mate Wyn Jones is one of the most notable omissions with loosehead props Gareth Thomas, Nicky Smith, Rhys Carre and uncapped duo Corey Domachowski and Kemsley Mathias named ahead of him.
Less than two years ago, Gatland was picking Jones as his Lions Test prop with mobility a reason given for his Wales omission.
"It was a tough call," said Gatland.
"The biggest thing for us is making sure we have an emphasis on the mobility of our front five.
"It definitely needs to improve in terms of getting around the park and winning collisions and ball carrying and stuff.
"There is no doubt he has had some injuries and stuff. Leading up to 2021 he was in outstanding form and playing well, we are just looking for some competition and a bit more mobility in that position.
"We are looking for guys winning collisions and having that work rate around the field that we think is important at this level.
"There is no doubt that the game has changed. The number of scrums is nowhere near as many as they used to be so you have got to have a front-five, particularly front rowers, that can scrummage but can get around the park. They have got to contribute a huge amount in terms of their mobility.
"That's a big part we need to improve and was an area when we reflected back and reviewed the Six Nations was probably our biggest work on in terms of moving forward."
Moriarty rules himself out
Ross Moriarty has played 54 internationals for Wales
Gatland admitted back-row was the most competitive position with Christ Tshiunza, Taine Basham, Taulupe Faletau, Dan Lydiate, Josh Macleod, Jac Morgan, Tommy Reffell, Justin Tipuric and Aaron Wainwright named.
Notable absentees include Morgan Morris, Thomas Young, James Botham and Carwyn Tuipulotu, while Ross Moriarty has made himself available for personal reasons following his move from Dragons to Brive.
"There was a huge amount of debate on that {back row]," said Gatland.
"Probably the hardest thing at the moment with our loose forwards is we've got a lot of quality but a lot of like for like.
"We've got a lot of players who are around the 100kg mark who have a lot of positive attributes about their game. That makes it tough in terms of making a final decision.
"We went with someone like Taine Basham because we like how explosive he is. We think someone like Aaron Wainwright can potentially cover the number eight position.
"Morgan Morris has had a really good year, someone like Carwyn Tuipulotu we talked about as someone for the future.
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"We've spoken a lot about the six position in terms of can Dan Lydiate give us the physicality we need? We've tried Christ Tshiunza there too.
"Thomas Young has had some outstanding games, we know how good he is with ball in hand.
"It's probably an area with our loose forwards where we're looking for physicality at the breakdown, turnovers, competing, and counter-rucking - those sorts of things.
"We've got good ball players and got to get the balance right."