Yahoo Sports Parry leaves Wales squad as absentees mount up
Ospreys hooker Sam Parry will not travel to Australia after leaving the Wales summer training squad this week.
Parry, 32, is not injured but will not be involved in the two-Test tour against the Wallabies after also not being named to face South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday.
The Ospreys man was one of four hookers originally named in Wales' 36-man training squad alongside Dewi Lake, Evan Lloyd and Elliot Dee, with Scarlets front-rower Ryan Elias rested for the summer programme.
Dee is set to miss the tour of Australia with an ankle injury and following Parry's withdrawal, Cardiff''s Efan Daniel has been called into the squad.
Daniel, 21, is set to travel to Australia alongside fellow Cardiff rookie Lloyd and Lake, who will captain Wales against the Springboks.
More missing players
Parry is an experienced campaigner who last played for Wales in the 52-16 World Cup warm-up game against South Africa.
He was left out of the final squad for the global tournament with Gatland taking Lake, Dee and Elias to France.
Parry was not included in the Six Nations but had been called up to the summer training squad.
Gatland had stated he would cut the final Australia touring party to 34 after the match against South Africa.
Wales will play Test matches in Sydney and Melbourne next month alongside a friendly against Queensland Reds in Brisbane.
Parry's departure provides further disruption to Wales' summer preparations with Jac Morgan, Taulupe Faletau, Tomos Williams, Adam Beard, Teddy Williams, Rhys Davies, Joe Roberts, Leon Brown and Josh Macleod missing through injury, Will Rowlands and Josh Adams rested and Gareth Anscombe making himself unavailable as he recovers from long-term injury.
English-based club players Dafydd Jenkins, Tommy Reffell, Nick Tompkins, Dillon Lewis, Archie Griffin, Christ Tshiunza and Josh Hathaway are unavailable for the South Africa match because it falls outside World Rugby’s international window but should return to face the Wallabies.
Prop Henry Thomas was ruled out of the South Africa match because of a foot injury but hopes to be fit to travel to Australia.
Gatland's recent record
Gatland has not bowed to pressure to pick other in-form Ospreys players with prop Nicky Smith and number eight Morgan Morris overlooked this year.
The New Zealander is in his second stint as Wales head coach after returning to replace Wayne Pivac in December 2022.
Gatland led Wales to the World Cup quarter-finals in France where they lost to Argentina but has had only six wins in 18 games.
That record has included 12 defeats with six successive international losses since the defeat to the Pumas in October 2023.
Wales have only won one game in the last two Six Nations campaigns, finishing bottom of the tournament for the first time since 2003 after losing all five matches.
Gatland says he offered to quit after that tournament but it was turned down by Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chief executive Abi Tierney.
WRU executive director of rugby Nigel Walker later doubled down on support for Gatland from the governing body.
