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| Tuesday, 22 October, 2002, 10:06 GMT 11:06 UK Ponty prominent in Wales squad ![]() Wales coach Steve Hansen is an admirer of Pontypridd Wales coach Steve Hansen has named seven Pontypridd players in the squad for the November internationals. Hansen named a 29-man squad on Tuesday, with one utility back to be added at a later date. The Pontypridd representatives include the five forwards that toured South Africa in the summer, along with world record points scorer Neil Jenkins and Sonny Parker. All but three of the squad that went to South Africa are included. Kevin Morgan and Mark Taylor were ruled out because of injury, while James Storey misses out. Swansea's Colin Charvis has retained the captaincy.
There is no place for Bridgend centre pairing of Gareth Thomas and former Lion Dafydd James. Leigh Davies, Ian Gough and Nathan Budgett were not considered because of injury, according to Hansen. Despite gaining a creditable draw against Leicester in the Heineken Cup, veteran lock Gareth Llewellyn is the only Neath player chosen. Hansen admitted that centre Andy Marinos, who is struggling to find any form with Newport, is perhaps the luckiest player to retain his place.
"You have to reward consistency on that level." Hansen said he will experiment with his line-up in the opening two Test matches against Romania and Fiji. But the New Zealander stressed that his team, with only one win in the nine matches, is desperate for morale boosting wins. "We're in a stage of our Test history where we need to put some good performances together," Hansen added. "That could dictate some selections as well." The series ends with a daunting date against the All Blacks at the Millennium Stadium on November 23. Wales squad for the November internationals Forwards: Iestyn Thomas (Llanelli), Gethin Jenkins (Pontypridd), Ben Evans (Swansea), Martyn Madden (Llanelli), Robin McBryde (Llanelli), Mefin Davies (Pontypridd), Vernon Cooper (Llanelli), Gareth Llewellyn (Neath), Steve Williams (Northampton), Robert Sidoli (Pontypridd), Colin Charvis (Swansea, capt), Scott Quinnell (Llanelli), Dafydd Jones (Llanelli), Michael Owen (Pontypridd), Gavin Thomas (Bath), Martyn Williams (Cardiff), Richard Parks (Pontypridd). |
See also: 21 Oct 02 | International 21 Oct 02 | International 20 Oct 02 | Sports Talk Top International stories now: Links to more International stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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