Reffell and Cracknell not in Wales squad for Nations Championship

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Steve Tandy has named a 39-man squad for games against Japan, New Zealand and Australia and a closing fixture at Twickenham on finals weekend.

Uncapped trio Aneurin Owen, Che Hope and Rhys Barrett are included in a squad with an average age of 27, and boasting 14 players based in England and one in France.

Reffell and Cracknell are both out despite their good form for Leicester in the Premier League, Toby Faletau is another back-row absentee after returning from injury for Cardiff in the Champions Cup last weekend, and Saracens centre Nick Tompkins also misses out.

Faletau turns 36 in November and is hoping to play at his fourth World Cup in Australia next year.

Tandy said: “We’re excited to head into our three home rounds of the competition.

“Principality Stadium is a special place to play and means an awful lot to the players.

“When we assemble as a group next week all eyes will be on that first home fixture against Japan and preparing well to put in a good performance for the fans.”

Cardiff loosehead prop Barrett and Dragons pair Hope and Owen are included for the first time.

Scrum-half Hope gets his chance with Ospreys’ Kieran Hardy facing a lengthy lay-off with a knee injury, while Owen features after shining for the Dragons in the United Rugby Championship.

Cardiff centre Ben Thomas is ruled out with a calf problem, but Scarlets outside-half Sam Costelow features despite being injured against Newcastle last weekend

Liam Belcher, Tomas Francis, Archie Griffin, Louie Hennessey and Dafydd Jenkins return having been unavailable for the July window of the Nations Championship.

There are also call ups for Taine Basham, Seb Davies and Rio Dyer.

Tandy said: “It’s great to welcome back the players who were unavailable for the first three rounds of the Nations Championship.

“Added to that, there are a number of players who’ve been in great form for their clubs and so we wanted to give them an opportunity in the squad this autumn.”