Warren Gatland today announced the 35-man Wales squad, captained by Sam Warburton, which will travel to Poland, next week for the 2012 RBS 6 Nations training camps.
Seven current or former Cardiff RFC players are named in the 35 man squad with Harry Robinson the latest star in Blue and Black wing to get recognision following Leigh Halfpenny and Alex Cuthbert.
Former Blue & Black prop Rhys Gill (now at Saracens) is also included.The squad is set to be reduced again after Wales return from an intense seven-day period at the specialist training camp which utilizes cryotherapy chambers to improve recovery and allow players to cram more training sessions into a given day.
Gatland is confident he has the right blend of youth, talent and experience to mount a highly credible challenge on the 2012 RBS 6 Nations title next month, which begins with a Celtic double header against Ireland, away, and Scotland, at home at the Millennium Stadium, on the first two weekends in February.
"We have had to strike a balance with this squad, the majority are those players who excelled for Wales during the Rugby World Cup, but are also taking the opportunity to look at one or two youngsters before probably cutting our numbers even further before the start of the RBS 6 Nations," said Gatland.
Full squad
BACKS
Mike PHILLIPS (BAYONNE)
Lloyd WILLIAMS (CARDIFF BLUES)
Rhys WEBB (OSPREYS)
Rhys PRIESTLAND (SCARLETS)
James HOOK (PERPIGNAN)
Jamie ROBERTS (CARDIFF BLUES)
Jonathan DAVIES (SCARLETS)
Scott WILLIAMS (SCARLETS)
Gavin HENSON (CARDIFF BLUES)
Ashley BECK (OSPREYS )
George NORTH (SCARLETS)
Leigh HALFPENNY (CARDIFF BLUES)
Alex CUTHBERT (CARDIFF BLUES)
Harry ROBINSON (CARDIFF BLUES)
Liam WILLIAMS (SCARLETS )
Lee BYRNE (ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE)
FORWARDS
Craig MITCHELL (EXETER CHIEFS)
Adam JONES (OSPREYS)
Ryan BEVINGTON (OSPREYS)
Gethin JENKINS (CARDIFF BLUES)
Paul JAMES (OSPREYS)
Rhys GILL (SARACENS)
Rhodri JONES (SCARLETS )
Matthew REES (SCARLETS)
Huw BENNETT (OSPREYS)
Ken OWENS (SCARLETS)
Bradley DAVIES (BLUES)
Ian EVANS (OSPREYS)
Lou REED (SCARLETS)
Ryan JONES (OSPREYS)
Dan LYDIATE (NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS)
Sam WARBURTON (CARDIFF BLUES, CAPTAIN)
Justin TIPURIC (OSPREYS)
Toby FALETAU (DRAGONS)
Andy POWELL (SALE)
