Gatland sends message to big name omissions

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has told the likes of Jamie Roberts and Luke Charteris “the door isn’t closed” after omitting them from his latest squad.

Gatland announced his 36-man squad for the internationals against Australia, Georgia, New Zealand and South Africa on Tuesday, with Scott Williams and Sam Davies also among the high-profile additions.

Harlequins centre Roberts and Bath lock Charteris, who have made a combined 167 international appearances, will not take part, with Gatland looking to use the series to blood youngsters ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Dragons duo Leon Brown and Elliot Dee, Olympic silver medallist Sam Cross, Ospreys’ Owen Watkin and New Zealand-born Scarlets centre Hadleigh Parkes are all in line to earn their first caps.

“I’m really excited about this squad as we kick off the two-year countdown to the 2019 Rugby World Cup,” said Gatland.

.@alunwynjones leads Wales' 36-man #UASeries squad featuring 5 new caps, 6 debutants from summer tour and 9 Lions. pic.twitter.com/BwcmKcQyWx

— Welsh Rugby Union ??????? (@WelshRugbyUnion) October 24, 2017

“We see this series as an opportunity to expose some players to the Test environment and continue to build our game as we look ahead two years.

“The autumn is a lot different to 12 months ago, where the focus was all about rankings. We have selected five uncapped players, there are a further six who made their debuts on the summer tour so it is a big opportunity to see all these players in this environment and I’m looking forward to seeing what they are able to do.

“The important message for those players who have missed out, the door isn’t closed.”

Scrum-half Rhys Webb has been included despite a change in selection policy last week meaning he will be unavailable for selection after his move from Ospreys to Top 14 side Toulon at the end of the season.