Wales Six Nations squad: Dan Biggar named captain as Alun Wyn Jones misses out through injury

Dan Biggar will captain Wales at the 2022 Six Nations Championship after the reigning champions named their 36 man squad for the upcoming tournament.

The Northampton Saints fly-half, 32, has won 95 caps for his national side so far and replaces Alun Wyn Jones as skipper with the Ospreys lock set to miss the competition through injury.

The British & Irish Lions captain is far from the only big name player missing from the Welsh line up with several other star names also on the injury list.

Here is the full details on the 36 man squad including the players who missed out and why:

Wales Six Nations squad 2022

New captain Dan Biggar is the most experienced player in the squad with 95 caps and is joined by familiar faces including Jonathan Davies, Liam Williams and Gareth Davies.

Alun Wyn Jones’ absence is felt in the forwards could give some new names their chance to shine in a red jersey with the three uncapped players that have been named all forwards.

Here is the 36 man Wales squad for the 2022 Six Nations:

• Rhys Carre
• Wyn Jones
• Gareth Thomas
• Ryan Elias
• Dewi Lake
• Bradley Roberts
• Leon Brown
• Tomas Francis
• Dillon Lewis
• Adam Beard
• Ben Carter
• Seb Davies
• Will Rowlands
• Christ Tshiunza
• Taine Basham
• Ellis Jenkins
• Jac Morgan
• Ross Moriarty
• James Ratti
• Aaron Wainwright
• Gareth Davies
• Kieran Hardy
• Tomos Williams
• Gareth Anscombe
• Dan Biggar
• Rhys Priestland
• Callum Sheedy
• Jonathan Davies
• Uilisi Halaholo
• Nick Tompkins
• Owen Watkin
• Josh Adams
• Alex Cuthbert
• Louis Rees-Zammit
• Johnny McNicholl
• Liam Williams

Where is Alun Wyn Jones and who else is missing?

Wales will be without several of their biggest names for the 2022 Six Nations with 149 cap Alun Wyn Jones the most notable absence.

The Ospreys’ lock had the chance to close in on Sergio Parisse’s record for most appearances in the competition this year with the former Italy skipper having made 69 and Jones currently on 64 but that personal milestone could now be beyond the 36-year old.

Also missing out is winger George North is currently the Six Nations highest try scorer amongst active players.

Johnny Williams and Leigh Halfpenny are also out in the backs but it’s the forwards where the injuries have really dealt blows with Elliott Dee, Ken Owens, Taulupe Faletau, Dan Lydiate, Josh Macleod, Josh Navidi and Justin Tipuric all missing.

What did Wales Head Coach Wayne Pivac say about his squad selection?

In the official squad announcement on the Welsh Rugby Union website, Wales men’s head coach Wayne Pivac commented: Wales head coach Wayne Pivac said: “We are excited to get back together as a squad when we meet up on Monday.

“The Guinness Six Nations is a very special competition and we want to go out and win, like every other nation. This is tournament rugby, so it’s about working hard in training and preparing well each week.

“Last year the Six Nations offered fans an exciting brand of rugby with lots of tries and, while we know we have five tough matches ahead and the margins in Test rugby are fine, we are looking forward to the challenge.

“With the world cup on the horizon next year, every match will be important for development on the road to France.

On the captain Pivac said: “In terms of captaincy we’ve named Dan Biggar. With the experience missing with some players out injured, we wanted someone who had experienced the competition on a number of occasions and knows the rigours of it. He gives us that – he has 95 Wales caps and he’s toured with the British and Irish Lions.

“Dan has the respect of the other players and management so we think he’ll do a great job.”

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