Warren Gatland named his first Six Nations squad in four years on his return as Wales coach.
In a huge 2023 that will end with a Rugby World Cup, Gatland opted for four uncapped players and named Ken Owens as his captain.
Here's everything he had to say...
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Talk us through Ken Owens as captain?
"Firstly, he’s a great man. Looking at the squad, I think if we’re picking a team, if you look at the way he played in the autumn and how he came back from injury, he’s probably number one in that position.
"There’s a few other positions where people will be fighting for their spots. He’ll be under pressure and everyone’s hopefully in the same boat. I did contemplate whether we picked a young captain and looked at that for the future.
"Talking to the other coaches, there’s probably a few contenders post the World Cup, where there’ll be significant change to the squad. Ken’s been picked to do that job and he’ll do a great job.
"That is (depth behind Ken) and that’s part of the challenge for us, creating as much depth as possible though the Six Nations and into France.
"I’ve a huge amount of respect for Ken as a person and I’m sure he’ll be popular with the players. He wears his heart on his sleeve, has an outstanding rugby intellect and he relates well with people. I’m sure he’ll be a popular choice with the players."
Talk us through the four uncapped players?
"Mason obviously is a big man and he’s got some development to do. He’s trained with the team in the past even though he wasn’t named in the squad.
"We’ve been impressed with a couple of performances that we’ve seen. There’s definitely more to come.
"Keiran is a bit different. He reminds me of a younger Scott Gibbs in the way that he plays and his stature. Fantastic footwork in getting across the gainline.
"He’s pretty exciting and it’s a great opportunity. With the forwards, Rhys has been involved with the squad. Teddy can come in and see what he can bring to the squad.
"It’s a position we need to develop some depth in. I think the challenge is balancing the older players who have been part of the squad with the younger players.
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"How many changes do you make? We need to give those youngsters opportunities leading into the World Cup. It’s a balancing act. I think that’s reflected in the squad.
"There’s experienced players that we want to be a part of it, but there’s a lot of players who haven’t got many caps behind their name who need more experience.
"We’ve seen teams arrive at World Cups in the past with older squads and then you pick up some injuries. All of a sudden, you’re throwing in inexperienced players.
"That’s part of our thinking. It’s important that we do well in the Six Nations, but we have to think about the next 10 months as well."
Is the Six Nations a free shot with the World Cup ahead?
"There is a bigger picture to look at, but the Six Nations is never a free shot. It’s important. It’s always been important for us.
"For us, the Six Nations is when points are at stake. Sometimes, the autumn is the free shot.
"You don’t get a free shot in the Six Nations. It’s a competition you want to win. Ireland at home is tough, but it’s a great game for us.
"Sold-out stadium. It’s something we can look forward to. Number one in the world and it’s going to be a challenge for us."
You won the Grand Slam in your first campaign in 2008 - do you have a tougher job than last time?
"Yeah, it probably is a little bit tougher. There were regional teams doing well then and we picked a lot of Ospreys which made the transition easier in terms of going to Twickenham.
"There’s a lot of expectations on the national team and the challenge for all of us is we want our regional teams to be competing and doing better in the competitions they’re in.
"They’re doing well in Europe, but they’re in the bottom half of the URC. Three of them are at the bottom of the competition. That’s a big challenge for us.
"We go into a Six Nations and there’s a huge amount of expectations from the Welsh public. We’ve fared extremely well over the last 20 years. I’m excited about it but I’m well aware there are some challenges ahead."
Did you consider appointing a younger captain, as you did with Sam Warburton in 2011?
"I did. The reason I didn’t was that there’s probably two or three players who would be in contention post World Cup, but there’s an older player who could be ahead of them in their position.
"We had a good debate about who could be a long-term captain of Wales post-World Cup and there were some interesting candidates and some strong contenders as well."
Did you consider getting rid of the old guard?
"Yeah, I did. The thought process is that it was something that needed to be done earlier.
"I think we’re running out of time. Some of that experience needs to be in that squad to help with the youngsters who haven’t got a lot of caps to their name. That was the thought process there."
What was the thinking behind appointing Mike Forshaw?
"With the Forshaw thing, I did a lot of homework on him. He’s probably got a very similar background to Shaun, playing rugby league for Wigan and Great Britain.
"He’s pretty close to Andy Farrell. He felt, with the experiences he’d had in rugby union, that he wanted to challenge himself at the next level.
"I spoke to a lot of people who rated him really highly not just as a rugby coach, but as a person. That’s important to me, getting the right people involved that will bring experience but also help create a harmonious coaching group.
15 years after a Grand Slam at the first attempt, can you win the Six Nations this time around?
"It wasn’t believable 15 years ago, so anything’s possible. I’m incredibly competitive and I’ll do whatever it takes to get this team to a position where they can compete with the best sides in the world.
"That will take some time, but I can guarantee we’ll work extremely hard over the next couple of weeks. I’m positive we’ll compete extremely well in the Six Nations."
Read more:
The verdict on Wales' Six Nations squad and the clear plan Gatland now has
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