Regan Grace has been described as an “X-factor” player following his shock call-up to Wales’ summer training squad.
Former rugby league star Grace, who has only played two senior games of union, could now travel to Australia for a tour highlighted by Tests against the Wallabies on July 6 and 13.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland will finalise his travelling group after Saturday’s Twickenham clash against South Africa.
Congratulations to Regan Grace who has been called into the @WelshRugbyUnion Summer Series training squad, linking up with the team this week.
Regan joins fellow Bath man Archie Griffin to represent the Blue, Black and White.
Full story 🔗 https://t.co/pOPzn8Wvuc pic.twitter.com/qWol61KMtm
— Bath Rugby (@BathRugby) June 20, 2024
He is expected to cut the current training squad by five or six players, but Grace might find himself firmly in contention after Ospreys wing Keelan Giles was released because of a groin injury.
Grace, who signed a contract with Bath in April, would not have been eligible for the Springboks encounter as it falls outside World Rugby’s summer Test window and Wales’ England-based players cannot be considered for selection.
The 27-year-old scored 89 tries for St Helens during a league career that saw him feature in three Grand Final-winning teams.
“We have lost a few in the back three and he has got speed. He has got that X-factor,” Wales assistant coach Jonathan Humphreys said.
“It is great to get him in the environment and get to know him a bit better.
“You can’t buy what he has got and we are excited to have him here. He has got gas and he can make things happen.”
Grace ruptured his Achilles tendon in August 2022 ahead of joining French Top 14 club Racing 92, but he did not feature for them after suffering an injury relapse six months later.
The 27-year-old linked up with Bath to continue his rehabilitation and he played in friendlies earlier this year against Leinster and Gloucester as he returned to full fitness.
![Regan Grace was a prolific try-scorer in rugby league](http://image.assets.pressassociation.io/v2/image/production/74f3126be125bef5f080114b59691886Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzE4OTgyNDM0/2.61847248.jpg?w=640)
Bath then announced a contract for the Port Talbot-born wing until the end of next season, with an option for another year.
Speaking in April, Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan said: “Regan has impressed both on and off the pitch over the last few months.
“He has a clear point of difference in his play and that will be very valuable for our team. It’s great to have Regan on board.”
Wales’ difficult build-up to facing the world champions has continued with prop Henry Thomas being ruled out.
🚨 DIWEDDARIAD CARFAN
Henry Thomas has been ruled out of the Wales XV to face South Africa away at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday due to a foot injury sustained in training
Keelan Giles has been released from the squad due to a groin injury sustained in training. pic.twitter.com/B0t9cQuYIh
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion) June 20, 2024
Scarlets forward Thomas had been due to start, but he is now sidelined because of a foot injury, with Keiron Assiratti summoned instead of him and Harri O’Connor joining the replacements.
Humphreys added: “It is an innocuous injury from scrummaging on Tuesday.
“He went to see a specialist last night. It looks pretty positive and we are going to treat that pretty aggressively.”
Wales have lost their last six Tests and they are without numerous front-line players, including a sizeable England-based contingent that contains the likes of Nick Tompkins, Dafydd Jenkins and Tommy Reffell.
Rassie Erasmus speaks on the Springboks’ team and preparations for the Wales test 💚💛#Springboks#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/k8L6b3KCmw
— Springboks (@Springboks) June 19, 2024
Injury absentees include Thomas, Giles, Jac Morgan, Taulupe Faletau, Tomos Williams and Adam Beard, with Josh Adams, Ryan Elias and Will Rowlands all being rested.
Asked about the size of Wales’ challenge, Humphreys said: “It’s huge. If you are in the Welsh pack, it is unbelievably exciting.
“It is a fantastic opportunity for players who have been on the fringes. If you can stand out in this game you have got a big future.
“The preparation has been intense. There is not a person in this environment who doesn’t want to win.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here