Who are the two Uncapped players in Warren Gatland's Wales squad?

Today at 06:18 AM

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has named his squad for the 2025 Men’s Guinness Six Nations yesterday, with a handful of players set for their first experience of ‘Rugby’s Greatest Championship’. Two uncapped hopefuls have been called-up in the 36-man training squad, with a further eight players eyeing up their first appearance in the competition.

Ospreys flanker Jac Morgan will captain the side, that has been bolstered by an assortment of returning faces from injury. Josh Adams, Elliot Dee, Taulupe Faletau, Dafydd Jenkins, Joe Roberts and Liam Williams all return, having missed the Autumn Nations Series due to time out upon the injury bays. There are also recalls for tighthead prop WillGriff John and hooker Sam Parry, in a Wales squad that has an average age of 26-years-old.

Gloucester’s Gareth Anscombe has been dropped from the squad, with his fellow fly half Sam Costelow unavailable due to an injury. Other notable absentees include Max Llewellyn, Rio Dyer, Cameron Winnett and Taine Plumtree, Dewi Lake, Ryan Elias, Costelow, Adam Beard, Ben Carter, Archie Griffin and Mason Grady.

THE TWO DEBUTANTES IN WARREN GATLAND’S WALES SQUAD

1. Dan Edwards (Ospreys – Fly Half)

Gatland made a shock omission within his Wales squad, as he left out senior Gloucester fly half Gareth Anscombe from the entire tournament squad. Anscombe was arguably the first choice man for the 10 shirt in many Welsh fans perspectives, following Sam Costelow’s collarbone break that side-lines the halfback for the next three months.

Gatland refered to Anscombe’s age (33) as the reasoning, with 35 year-old Dan Biggar’s Test match career seemingly also finished up. Gatland explained to the media how as Anscombe will be 36 when the 2027 Rugby World Cup comes around, he is unsure as to whether the Cherry and Whites man will make it to the tournament as a Test match player. For such reasons, Gatland has looked to the future for the World Cup cycle, by bringing Ospreys young gun Dan Edwards into the fold.

The 21-year-old is a definite name for the future, having only made his senior club debut in the fourth round of the 2023/24 United Rugby Championship season. However, the fly half has had a rapid surge in Test match contention, following a solid run of form far beyond his years in South Wales. An excellent back-line conductor, Edwards has taken the starting 10 shirt by the scruff for the Swansea side, with nine out of 10 starts under his belt for the Ospreys this season.

Edwards has a keen eye for goal, with 76 points to his name from the kicking tee in all competitions. An average of 7.6 points per match is a solid strike rate for the young halfback, who has also crossed over for tries against the Stormers and Cardiff this season. Ospreys have brought Edwards up through the ranks, with former head coach Toby Booth starting to plan for a future without 32-year-old fly half Owen Williams. Edwards is highly tipped to return to Swansea as a Test match rugby player, with notable positional absentees opening up the door for a debut in either February or March.

2. Ellis Mee (Scarlets)

The second player coming in to Warren Gatland’s squad with the dream of securing his Test debut in the 2025 Six Nations, is Scarlets back Ellis Mee. The versatile back-three flyer has been starring on the wings for the Scarlets in the United Rugby Championship, after making his debut for the Llanelli side at the start of the current season. Mee has made seven starts in his eight Scarlets appearances this season, with a split of his involvements across the left and right wings.

Prior to arriving in Wales, Ellis Mee was lighting up the RFU Championship with Nottingham Rugby, where he made the 15 jersey his own. The Bay faithful enjoyed a season of Mee as their starting fullback, with the young gun running in seven tries throughout the 2023/24 Championship season. Mee was beloved by the Nottinghamshire club, as he was named Nottingham Rugby Player of the Year, as well as Fan’s Player of the Year at the end of the campaign.

With less than 10 top-flight appearences under his belt, Mee’s rise to the Welsh squad could certainly be considered a meteoric rise. Gatland certainly likes what he sees in the high-flying back, as he has fast-tracked Mee into the national set-up, with one eye on the 21-year-old’s future with the WRU. It will be a tough pecking order for Mee to overcome, should he press on for a debut in the 2025 Guinness Six Nations. The back three contingency currently includes with Liam Williams, Tom Rogers, Blair Murray, Josh Adams and Josh Hathaway, with Ellis Mee occupying the vacancy left from an injured Mason Grady.

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