Wales name five uncapped players in 38-man Six Nations squad

Saracens centre Nick Tompkins and 18-year-old Gloucester wing Louis Rees-Zammit have both been named in Wales’ Six Nations squad.

They are joined by three more uncapped players in Sale Sharks prop WillGriff John, Wasps lock Will Rowlands and Scarlets wing Johnny McNicholl, and there is also a recall for scrum-half Rhys Webb.

Webb last played Test rugby just over two years ago before joining French club Toulon and ruling himself out of Wales contention because he did not meet the minimum 60-cap selection criteria for players plying their trade outside the country.

Tompkins, 24, represented England Saxons in 2016 and is an England Under-20 World Cup winner, but he qualifies for Wales through his Wrexham-born grandmother.

Despite Tompkins playing for the Saxons, he was not ‘captured’ by England because their opposition – South Africa A – were not South Africa’s officially recognised international second team at that time.

He will give coach Wayne Pivac an additional midfield option, with Scarlets centre Jonathan Davies sidelined for the entire Six Nations due to injury and Ospreys’ Owen Watkin recovering from a knee problem.

Watkin is named in the squad, along with Scarlets-bound Saracens back Liam Williams, who has not played since suffering an ankle injury during the World Cup.

Rees-Zammit, meanwhile, has lit up English rugby this season, scoring nine tries across 10 games for his club.

And that blistering form has attracted Pivac’s attention, with the New Zealander naming a 38-man squad for his first campaign since succeeding Warren Gatland.