Warren Gatland has named his Wales team to face the Barbarians this weekend.

Lee Halfpenny starts for his country for the final time, while Dragons defender Lloyd Fairbrother is a surprise start after a late call-up following injuries to Leon Brown and Keiron Assiratti.

This is what Gatland said after naming his team…

What decision was made in choosing Lloyd Fairbrother?

“Probably if you look at the players who weren’t available to us and then we lost Keiron (Assiratti) and Leon (Brown) this week, we just gained a bit of experience.

“It’s an important part of the role. Harry (O’Connor) is still a young player and we need to give him some time. We’ve probably already talked about someone like Will Davis-King who we’ve spent some time on and want to see develop, but unfortunately he’s not getting many opportunities at the moment.

“Although we used the national team to develop players for the future, we did not feel it was the right decision for this game. We needed some experience. That’s why Lloyd started there.”

Anything on Lee Halfpenny before his last game for Wales?

“He was an incredible server. A lot of people have talked about how incredibly professional he is in terms of how he trains and prepares. I can’t speak highly enough of him, not just as a rugby player but also as a person. He was one of those people who set incredible standards.

“He has been a great example for young players in that sense. He’s not the greatest man in the world, but he always gave 100 percent for that shirt. He is a proud Welshman. “I’m very lucky to have been an important part.” of his career in terms of being selected for his first game and being involved in the last time he played for Wales, I hope he has a great future.

“I know it is an exciting challenge that you have been offered. A few weeks ago, he was talking to me about where he was going. I just said it would be brilliant for him in terms of what he wants to do next with his SUMMARY.

Playing in France, winning a championship there, being successful in Wales, having the opportunity to go to the southern hemisphere and then maybe coming back to follow Neil Jenkins’ path in coaching. CV, he will be brilliant at this.”

What was it like having players who were part of the World Cup training squad back in camp?

“I think that’s what made the first part of this week easier. Having these players come and engage with us made everything perfect. It was a challenge over the weekend, losing some tight ends. I told the guys they had been involved in camps and warm-ups, so it was an easy transition.

“Some things we talked about in terms of information after the World Cup, about the future. For me, especially with Ben (Carter) and Teddy (Williams), it was great to see them come back and develop as leaders. positions. As for Teddy, I have no doubt that his involvement helped him start his first two games for Cardiff. Maybe if he wasn’t involved, he might have been among the 23 or not. “It paved the way for two young players. We can see that they will grow significantly in the coming years.”

There has been a lot of criticism of this game, as it coincides with the Welsh derby. Thoughts?

“I fully understand and understand the issues involved. We are aware of this, so I did my best to support the regions by choosing only 23 players. We could, as would be our normal situation, choose 33 or 34, but that would take nine more players out of the regions in terms of availability for those teams.

“I understand, but we’ve come out of some pretty difficult years with Covid and everyone talks about funding and how difficult it is for everyone. The aim of the game is definitely to generate additional revenue and there is an opportunity for us, without the non-Welsh players, to get people to tick the box to get involved in the Six Nations.

“I spoke to the players about it at the start of the week and told them they wanted to be in a situation where it was harder to get into this team but easier to leave. “If you show form and play well, the players have a chance to win.” Come out on Saturday and play well. I’ve shown in the past that I was very loyal to the players who went out, wore that shirt and did well, and for the players who do that it’s a good opportunity to be there. selected for the Six Nations.

Is it important to honor people like Halfpenny, Alan Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric for their services to Wales?

“That’s what we talked about this week, there will be some recognition for these players. When I had that conversation with Justin and he retired from international rugby, we talked about this game being an opportunity for him to get involved, but it was for Wales, but he has the opportunity with the Barbarians to recognize his contribution and Alan Wynne and Lee.

“Having the opportunity to end their career is their choice and I fully respect and support that, it is their choice, other people have coaches to make that decision. Let’s hope it’s a good opportunity for these three players and that others are included in the squad for the World Cup. “We know Dan Biggar has taken some time off, but there may be a few others who last wore the Wales shirt at this World Cup, but I won’t know until time passes.”

What’s the best way to stop Jones when facing him?

“I hope there are no fights, I don’t think there will be anything like that. Obviously he will be motivated enough to go out and have a good game. The boys are excited about him, they have a lot of respect for him as a player, person and leader.

“We don’t talk about him or Justin. It’s a chance to celebrate his and Lee’s careers, but there will probably be more after this. There is no doubt that some shirts will be torn, some conversations or some words will be spoken, and I hope that happens. , good humor as a bit of encouragement, a desire to play positive rugby.”

How does it feel to be together a week after the pain of the World Cup?

“We have drawn a line now at the World Cup and we are talking about this next cycle and how we are going to deal with this, this group of players. We don’t have enough players but there’s a good chance that these young Welsh players who are here will go out and see if they can play.

“I know a lot of people wrote us off before (the World Cup). We talked about doing something special, I don’t think we did anything special. We were fine. A performance against Australia that could not have asked for better in terms of how the game unfolded.

“We were very disappointed with the way we played against Argentina. It’s hard to put them down, and we probably don’t handle it as well as we could. There were many lessons to be learned from this. Were we tense? enough or we were in, we had a bit of pressure because we won the group and probably relieved that pressure a bit, it’s very disappointing for all of us when you have a chance like that to lose the semi-finals.

“It hurts for a while. It’s something we can’t forget, we can’t avoid talking about and discussing. “We’re talking about setting standards and expectations so that we as a group grow and perform.”

The Six Nations could go from seven weeks to six. Is this a cause for concern?

“I think it’s probably the minimum amount of time you need to be involved in the Six Nations. You can probably play three games, then take a week off, then play a few more games. I know they are talking about players having another week off after these five games when they return to their clubs, which I think is a positive when it comes to player welfare.

“It will be interesting to see how they do in terms of teams with fewer players. You could get hurt if things are more condensed. I don’t think you can play five weeks in a row with that kind of physique. today’s game without any injuries.

“You need recovery. I can see some arguments for this in terms of equalizing the Southern Hemisphere Six Nations competition. I have to support it. I think we are doing very well in terms of injuries. We had a very difficult calendar at the World Cup and we managed to overcome the injuries very well. We had no soft tissue injuries and that was great. But if we reached the semi-finals, we would be missing four or five players. That’s where it affects you in terms of workload.”

What are your plans for the Nations Championship?

“I didn’t look at it in general terms. I understand that some people were quite positive about this, while others were negative about supporting so-called second-tier nations. The positive thing for me was the Pacific Cup because it attracted countries like Samoa and Canada. I completely understand that countries like Samoa and Fiji certainly want the opportunity to play against top tier countries.

“That’s exactly what I would want to do if I were them. The tricky part is how to balance this. It all comes down to the calendar. Next fall I think we will play Fiji as one of the schedules, but that depends on how many people are in the stadium. There are 40 or 50 thousand people in the stadium versus a game against a top-tier country that will be sold out. Unfortunately, a balance now needs to be struck.

“We talk about the development of these second-tier nations, but everyone also talks about how we fund the game and the pressures that come with it. There is no doubt that Fiji’s participation in Super Rugby and the fact that several of their players played in France definitely had an impact on their performance. The only way to improve is to play against the best teams. I remember having that conversation with Roger Lewis when I came to Wales.

“He was talking about the teams we’d like to play in the fall and I said, ‘When you can play New Zealand or Australia, let’s take advantage of that opportunity.’ I’m very aware of this and what is needed, but how do I do this? You want to make sure teams have a chance and also make money to play.”

Do coaches have a say in important decisions made by World Rugby?

“No. That’s all. You talk about consistency and other things. I asked my medical team to go back to World Rugby to enlighten me about an incident like Nick Tompkins against Argentina, which was neither a penalty nor a yellow card. but he still had to leave in this situation for the HIA.

“So in this situation, I need to know why Jesse Creel didn’t have to appear for HIA or Ardi Savea (in the World Cup final). These things worry me a little more.”