A dozen Cardiff Rugby players have been named in Wales’ 48-man extended training squad for this summer’s fixtures, underlining the region’s continued importance to the national set-up.

Wales men’s head coach Steve Tandy has selected 12 current Cardiff Rugby players in his squad ahead of the clash with the Barbarians and the inaugural Nations Championship campaign.

Even more significantly from a Cardiff perspective, 19 members of the squad have come through the Cardiff Rugby academy pathway, highlighting the club’s development system and its contribution to Welsh rugby.

Among the headline selections is uncapped loosehead prop Rhys Barratt, who earns his first senior Wales call-up after an impressive season in blue and black. Barratt is one of six uncapped players included in the wider squad.

Cardiff’s representation in the forward pack also includes Liam Belcher, Evan Lloyd, Sam Wainwright, Keiron Assiratti, Teddy Williams, Alex Mann and James Botham.

In the backs, the main headline is the return of scrum-half Ellis Bevan, who last featured for Wales in November 2024. Completing Cardiff’s backline representation are Josh Adams, Ben Thomas and Mason Grady.

Speaking about the make-up of the extended squad, Tandy explained the staggered nature of preparations due to club commitments.

“Some players will finish next weekend and then some might not come into the squad until the 27th of June, so there’s a lot of staggering, that’s the reason for the extended squad.

“There will be an updated squad post the Barbarians game before we go into the Nations Championship.

“The priorities for us this summer are to keep growing the players, get them up to speed with the conditioning element and also skill development when they’re coming in.”

Wales begin their summer schedule against the Barbarians at Allianz Stadium on June 27th before Nations Championship fixtures against Fiji, Argentina and South Africa in July.