Wales World Cup announcement: Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan to co-captain as Gatland names squad
Wales coach Warren Gatland has named two captains for the World Cup campaign in France.
Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan will co-captain the tournament which gets underway next month.
The 33-man line-up also includes likes of George North, who will compete in his fourth World Cup, Leigh Halfpenny and Dan Biggar.
Gareth Anscombe and Taulupe Faletau also feature in the squad, despite missing the recent summer series internationals due to injury.
Other injured players Dafydd Jenkins, Dewi Lake and Ryan Elias will also travel to France.
The squad is made up of 19 forwards and 14 backs with an average age of 27 years old.
Seventeen players have previous Rugby World Cup experience.
The squad will be missing some experience such as the likes of Ken Owens who was released from the World Cup squad in June after failing to recover from a back injury.
Wales suffered a heavy defeat to South Africa on Saturday losing 52-16 to the current champions. The game was billed as the final chance for players to impress before Gatland before today's selection.
He will be hoping that his new-look squad can put the last year of chaos behind them with success at the World Cup.
The full squad is as follows:
FORWARDS:Taine Basham, Talywain RFC
Adam Beard, Birchgrove RFC
Elliot Dee, Newbridge RFC
Corey Domachowski, Gilfach Goch RFC
Ryan Elias, Carmarthen Athletic RFC
Taulupe Faletau, RTW Ebbw vale
Tomos Francis, Malton and Norton RFC
Dafydd Jenkins, Porthcawl RFC
Dewi Lake, Valley Ravens RFC
Dillon Lewis, Beddau RFC
Dan Lydiate, Rhayader RFC
Jac Morgan, Cwmtwrch RFC
Tommy Reffell, Pencoed RFC
Will Rowlands, Dragons
Nicky Smith, Waunarlwydd RFC
Gareth Thomas, Newcastle Emlyn RFC
Henry Thomas, Bath RFC
Christ Tshiunza, Rhiwbina Squirrels
Aaron Wainwright, Whiteheads RFC
BACKS:
Josh Adams, Hendy RFC
Gareth Anscombe, Ponsonby Rugby Club
Dan Biggar, Gorseinon RFC
Sam Costelow, Pencoed RFC
Gareth Davies, Newcastle Emlyn RFC
Rio Dyer, Risca RFC
Mason Grady, Barry RFC
Leigh Halfpenny, Gorseinon RFC
George North, Llangefni RFC
Louis Rees-Zammit, Rumney RFC
Nick Tompkins, Old Elthamians RFC
Johnny Williams, Rams RFC
Liam Williams, Waunarlwydd RFC & Penlan RFC
Tomos Williams, Treorchy RFC
"The toughest part of the job is always selection and this is particularly the case when it comes to picking a Rugby World Cup squad," said Gatland.
"Over the past three months the whole group of 48 players in the wider training squad has been outstanding in terms of attitude and effort, so having to reduce the squad down to the final 33 has been really hard and there have been some close final decisions in the last 36 hours.
"But we can only take 33 players and those we have selected we think offer a good combination in terms of talent and experience.
"We have a few more training sessions here in Wales before we depart for France on 3 September and we cannot wait to get out there and get started in this tournament. We look forward to what lies ahead for this group.
"This will be a very proud moment for these players, their families and friends and I’d like to congratulate them all on the achievement."
A good tournament in France would not cure all ills but it would give the game here a much-needed boost.
Wales' first game against Fiji kicks off at 8:00pm (UK time) in the Stade de Bordeaux on Sunday, 10 September.
They then take on Portugal, Australia and Georgia in their other group matches.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...