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Wales kick off their busy summer with an uncapped match against the Barbarians on June 27
At the start of next month, the first lot of Wales’ mammoth 48-man extended summer squad will start filtering in to the their Vale of Glamorgan HQ.
Some will have the best part of a month in camp before a ruck is hit in anger, while others will have considerably less time to get to grip with things. Before Wales take on Fiji, Argentina and South Africa across three continents in July, there’s an uncapped match against the Barbarians in London to get Steve Tandy’s side up and running this summer.
Of the 48 players named in the squad, 15 will be unavailable as the match is outside of the Test window.
There’s 14 plying their trade in England, while Adam Beard is in France with Montpellier.
Of course, given the size of the squad, there’s still plenty for Tandy to pick from.
Starting in the back-three, there could be a temptation to give Tom Rogers a first start for Wales at full-back.
The 27-year-old is swapping the Scarlets for the Ospreys this summer, with part of the reason understood to be his desire to wear 15 on his back.
Rogers hasn’t started a match there since January 2025, with the vast majority of his Test caps coming since he’d perhaps come to terms with playing on the wing – even crossing for a hat-trick against New Zealand last year.
If Rogers is going to be playing full-back more next season, it might make sense to give him a run here – especially with no Cameron Winnett, Jacob Beetham or Angus O’Brien in the squad.
However, Blair Murray – having been a regular at full-back in 2025 – only managed a few cameo appearances in the Six Nations after Louis Rees-Zammit was moved into the 15 jersey. It might be more tempting to put him back in the starting side in Rees-Zammit’s absence.
Rogers could be worth a start on the wing. On the other, any of Josh Adams, Ellis Mee or Mason Grady would be fine – there’s no compelling case for any in terms of wanting to learn more.
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Perhaps, given the stop-start nature of his Test career to date, Grady’s worth a look.
In midfield, naturally there’s a case for Tandy to stick with his Six Nations pairing of Joe Hawkins and Eddie James.
That seems the obvious thing to do, given attack coach Matt Sherratt’s preference of having a ball-playing 12. But, with Max Llewellyn, Louie Hennessey and Bryn Bradley all ready to come into the mix after the Baa-Baas clash, there could be a temptation to try James at 12.
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That would also hand the recalled Joe Roberts a start, having been impressive for the Scarlets recently.
In the half-backs, much will depend on Sam Costelow’s recovery from injury. Whether it’s the Scarlets playmaker or Dan Edwards doesn’t matter a great deal for this one.
Scrum-half though could be a chance to give Reuben Morgan-Williams a start.
In the pack, there’s a chance for uncapped Rhys Barratt and Ben Warren to get some action. It probably makes sense to partner them with familiar faces, so stick Barratt with Cardiff team-mate Keiron Assiratti and have Warren pack down with Ospreys colleague Gareth Thomas.
In the second-row, Ben Carter and Teddy Williams are the only out-and-out locks. Of course, Williams is coming back from a nasty injury – with Taine Plumtree and Ryan Woodman options there, too.
As for the back-row, there’s a case for not risking Jac Morgan or Aaron Wainwright – given their importance to Wales. But just how much can you wrap up players in cotton wool?
Depending on how he goes in camp next month, a start for Harrison Keddie would be the continuation of a feelgood story – having been handed his first call-up by Wales a decade after helping the U20s to a Grand Slam.
Possible Wales team to face Barbarians: Blair Murray; Mason Grady, Joe Roberts, Eddie James, Tom Rogers; Dan Edwards, Reuben Morgan-Williams; Rhys Barratt, Evan Lloyd, Keiron Assiratti, Teddy Williams, Ben Carter, Harrison Keddie, Jac Morgan (c), Aaron Wainwright.
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Gareth Thomas, Ben Warren, Ryan Woodman, James Botham, Ellis Bevan, Sam Costelow, Ellis Mee.
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