Posted by Bristol Bears fly-half Callum Sheedy has chosen to play international rugby for Wales and been named in the Wales squad for the upcoming Autumn International, Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup matches.
The 24-year-old was eligible for Wales courtesy of being born in Cardiff, Ireland through family heritage and England through residency, and his international allegiance was unclear having pulled on the jersey of each nation at one time or another.
However he will now play for the land of his birth over the next two months and is one of seven uncapped players in Wayne Pivac’s squad alongside club mate Ioan Lloyd, Ospreys hooker Sam Parry, Gloucester winger Louis Rees-Zammit, and Scarlets trio flanker Josh MacLeod, scrum-half Kieran Hardy and centre Johnny Williams.
There is no place for players who have recently been involved in the Wales setup Elliot Dee, WillGriff John, Adam Beard, Jarrod Evans and Hallam Amos, while Pivac resisted the temptation to call-up the likes of Dewi Lake, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Willis Halaholo, Steff Evans and Ashton Hewitt.
Instead Samson Lee could play his first test since the Rugby World Cup warm-ups and Seb Davies is involved for the first time since November 2018, while Rhys Patchell, Jon Davies, Liam Williams and George North are all included despite having their playing time severely restricted by either injury or suspension.
Wales open their Autumn campaign with a warm-up against France in Paris on October 24th, before completing the 2020 Six Nations at home to Scotland in Llanelli the following weekend. After a week off the Autumn Nations Cup then begins with a trip to Ireland before games against Georgia and England, with the final round of games taking place on December 5th.
WALES SQUAD – AUTUMN 2020
Forwards (21): Rhys Carre (Cardiff Blues, 8 Caps), Wyn Jones (Scarlets, 25 Caps), Nicky Smith (Ospreys, 35 Caps), Ken Owens (Scarlets, 77 Caps), Ryan Elias (Scarlets, 13 Caps), Sam Parry (Ospreys)*, Samson Lee (Scarlets, 41 Caps), Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues, 26 Caps), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs, 48 Caps), Leon Brown (Dragons, 10 Caps), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, 138 Caps), Will Rowlands (Wasps, 1 Cap), Jake Ball (Scarlets, 46 Caps), Seb Davies (Cardiff Blues, 7 Caps), Cory Hill (Cardiff Blues, 25 Caps), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons, 21 Caps), Ross Moriarty (Dragons, 45 Caps), Taulupe Faletau (Bath, 76 Caps), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues, 24 Caps), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys, 76 Caps), Josh Macleod (Scarlets)*
Backs (17): Rhys Webb (Ospreys, 33 Caps), Gareth Davies (Scarlets, 53 Caps), Kieran Hardy (Scarlets)*, Dan Biggar (Northampton, 83 Caps), Rhys Patchell (Scarlets, 19 Caps), Callum Sheedy (Bristol)*, Owen Watkin (Ospreys, 22 Caps), Nick Tompkins (Dragons, 4 Caps), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets, 81 Caps), Johnny Williams (Scarlets)*, George North (Ospreys, 95 Caps), Josh Adams (Cardiff Blues, 24 Caps), Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester)*, Jonah Holmes (Dragons, 3 Caps), Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets, 89 Caps), Ioan Lloyd (Bristol)*, Liam Williams (Scarlets, 63 Caps)
* denotes an uncapped player
Cardiff Rugby Life 