Sam Warburton has been released by Warren Gatland in order to get some game time with his region.
The Wales captain will be available for selection with the Cardiff Blues in the RaboDirect Pro12 this weekend along with British & Irish Lions Gethin Jenkins.
In total, ten players will have a chance to impress Gatland before the vital clash against France on February 21.
“When we look back, there was probably four of that forward pack that hadn’t had a lot of rugby in terms of Sam and Gethin, while Adam Jones hadn’t played a lot and Andrew Coombs hadn’t had a lot of rugby,” Gatland explained. “We have released some players back that haven’t had a lot of rugby.
“We’ve also got to recognise the Ospreys are playing on Sunday and we have got a Friday night game against France. I have spoken to Steve Tandy about some of the players we have released playing 40 minutes, while some will play a bit longer than that. We’ve got to be careful with the five-day turnaround that we don’t have too many players involved because it will severely hamper our preparation for France.”
Released players:
Scarlets: Samson Lee, Emyr Phillips.
Ospreys: Ryan Bevington, James King, Dan Baker, Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb, Ashley Beck.
Cardiff Blues: Gethin Jenkins, Sam Warburton.