How Wales’ 33-man World Cup squad is shaping up after South Africa, with young bolter set for call but big names to miss out

When Wales went to the first World Cup they opted not to head to the Swiss Alps to round off their preparations.

Instead, it was a weekend in Saundersfoot for the class of 1987.

“We trained on the Friday, had a game situation on the Saturday, had a few beers in the evening and did a fun run on the Sunday,” Adrian Hadley later recalled in an interview with WalesOnline. “They made us all do the fun run to try to sweat the beer out of us.”

It’s improbable a similar approach will be followed by Wayne Pivac and his coaches in the run-up to France 2023. But there are sure to be controversies in selection as there were those many years ago, when the selectors chose to ignore the claims of Neath’s marauding back row trio of Phil Pugh, Lyn Jones and Mark Jones. Lyn the Link, tough, dynamic, fast and clever, was particularly unlucky not to make the cut.

Who will make Pivac’s squad for next year and who will fall by the wayside? Hard to predict with any degree of certainty 14 months out from the tournament, but this is our best guess at how the 33-strong squad is now looking.

The big omission is Leigh Halfpenny. He has the quality and character to give Pivac a big call to make, but right now, given that he hasn’t played for more than a year after his injury, he has ground to make up.

Johnny McNicholl needs a big season. But Pivac likes his game-breaking qualities and aerial skills, as well as his ability to operate at full-back and wing.

Williams, Rees-Zammit, Adams and Cuthbert look well-placed to make the squad, with the quartet all having their moments on tour in South Africa. Coaches tend not to forget.

Tompkins had a decent tour of South Africa, all things considered. He is no playmaker but he is busy and he impacts matches in