Wales coach Warren Gatland on Wednesday named three uncapped players in his 27-man squad for two Tests against world champions South Africa, but no specialist open-side flanker.
Cardiff Blues lock Bradley Davies, London Irish scrum-half Warren Fury and Ospreys full-back Andrew Bishop are all included in the Welsh squad marked by the absence of a raft of injured senior players.
Flankers Martyn Williams, Robin Sowden-Taylor and Ospreys youngster Ben Lewis have all been ruled out of the two-Test trip, leading to speculation that veteran loose-forward Colin Charvis could earn a recall.
But Warren Gatland decided against it and now seems set to ask either Jonathan Thomas or Dafydd Jones, both natural blind-side flankers, to play out of position against the likes of Schalk Burger.
Martyn Williams is joined on the sidelines this summer by fellow Grand Slam winners Gavin Henson, Lee Byrne, Dwayne Peel and Mike Phillips.
"This is a great chance for some of the younger guys," said Gatland.
"And for a number of the players chosen it is about what I've heard about them and Bradley and Andrew are thought of very highly.
"I also worked with Warren during our Wasps days and I know what a good kid he is."
But Charvis' omission is the real shock as it was thought the veteran Dragons captain would fill Wales' problem open-side flanker position.
"It wasn't a close decision," confirmed Gatland.
"We had looked at the possibility of bringing back Colin as a short-term fill but this tour is about the future and it has given us the chance to call some younger guys into the squad to develop them.
"We feel we can cover the number seven jersey by moving Jonathan Thomas from blind-side to open-side flanker and including Dafydd Jones in the squad."
The first Test against the World Cup holders will be at Bloemfontein's Vodacom Park on June 7, with the second game at Pretoria's Loftus Versfeld the following Saturday.
Wales have beaten the Springboks just once in their history, and have never triumphed on South African soil.
Moreover, Wales have not beaten one of the Tri-Nations sides on their home turf since overcoming Australia in 1969, a 1987 World Cup semi-final win over the Wallabies having been played in New Zealand.
Wales squad
Backs: Morgan Stoddart (Llanelli Scarlets), Andrew Bishop (Ospreys), Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues), Shane Williams (Ospreys), Tom James (Cardiff Blues), Mark Jones (Llanelli Scarlets), Sonny Parker (Ospreys), Tom Shanklin (Cardiff Blues), Stephen Jones (Llanelli Scarlets), James Hook (Ospreys), Andrew Williams (Newport Gwent Dragons), Warren Fury (London Irish), Gareth Cooper (Gloucester)
Forwards: Duncan Jones (Ospreys), Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Rhys Thomas (Newport Gwent Dragons), Mathew Rees (Llanelli Scarlets), Huw Bennett (Ospreys), Ian Gough (Ospreys), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Ian Evans (Ospreys), Bradley Davies (Cardiff Blues), Jon Thomas (Ospreys), Dafydd Jones (Llanelli Scarlets), Gareth Delve (Gloucester), Ryan Jones (Ospreys, capt)
AFP
