Dafydd Jenkins out of Wales’ Nations Championship matches due to shoulder injury

Exeter lock forward Dafydd Jenkins has been ruled out of Wales’ upcoming Nations Championship programme.

The former Wales captain suffered a shoulder injury during the Gallagher PREM final against Northampton on June 20, and the 23-year-old now faces surgery instead of taking on Fiji, Argentina and South Africa over the next three weekends.

Exeter’s director of rugby Rob Baxter told the club website: “Daf is having a shoulder operation and will miss the Wales summer internationals while rehabbing.

“However, he is expected to be fit for around the start of the new Gallagher PREM season.”

Head coach Steve Tandy has confirmed the 33-strong Wales squad for the inaugural Nations Championship, which begins with a Cardiff City Stadium fixture against Fiji on Saturday.

There are two uncapped players among the 19 forwards and 14 backs named, Ospreys tight-head prop Ben Warren and Exeter back row Kane James.

Tandy said: “We have selected a squad of 33 players for the Nations Championship to mirror what will be required for the World Cup in 2027.

“We are building a lot of competition among our group of players, which is what we want to have, and there were some tough calls to make.

“We have an exciting opportunity over the next three weeks in a brand-new competition and can’t wait to get our campaign started against Fiji on Saturday.

“As I’ve mentioned before, the priorities for us this summer are to keep growing and developing the players. We want to continue building and to be more consistent in our performances across all three games.”

Wales great Leigh Halfpenny, meanwhile, has been appointed interim kicking coach.

The 101-times capped Halfpenny, who retired at the end of last season, was part of Matt Sherratt’s coaching team last summer for the two-Test series in Japan.

Squad: Backs – J Adams (Cardiff), S Costelow (Scarlets), D Edwards (Ospreys), M Grady (Cardiff), K Hardy (Ospreys), J Hawkins, E James (both Scarlets), M Llewellyn (Gloucester), E Mee (Scarlets), R Morgan-Williams (Ospreys), B Murray (Scarlets), L Rees-Zammit (Bristol), B Thomas (Cardiff), T Williams (Gloucester). Forwards – A Beard (Montpellier), J Botham (Cardiff), R Carre (Saracens), B Carter (Dragons), R Elias (Scarlets), K James (Exeter), D Lake (Ospreys, capt), D Lewis (Dragons), E Lloyd, A Mann (both Cardiff), J Morgan (Ospreys), T Plumtree (Scarlets), T Reffell, N Smith (both Leicester), G Thomas (Ospreys), A Wainwright (Dragons), S Wainwright (Cardiff), B Warren (Ospreys), T Williams (Cardiff).