Wales boss Wayne Pivac has named a 35-man squad for the upcoming autumn internationals but, as with any major selection, there are a number of players who have been left disappointed.
Indeed, there are a handful of eye-opening omissions from the group which will take on New Zealand, Argentina, Georgia and Australia throughout November, headlined by prop Rhys Carre and abrasive back-rower Ross Moriarty.
By Pivac's own admission, this is his last chance to really experiment with the players at his disposal ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup, with results taking priority in the Six Nations next year. So those not involved in this campaign, particularly those who have not recently featured, are now struggling to stake a claim before next year's global gathering.
Let's take a closer look at those who appear a tad unfortunate to miss out:
Rhys Carre
Loose-head prop Carre was part of Wales' group that travelled to South Africa in the summer. On that tour, he came off the bench in the first Test - during which he gave away a penalty try and was yellow-carded - while Wyn Jones was injured.
The Wales management have harboured concerns over his conditioning in recent times and it seems he has not hit the required markers. His performances for Cardiff this season have been impressive and he appears to have improved his scrummaging to add to his standout work in the loose. On the surface, the omission is completely mystifying.
But this feels like Pivac trying to motivate Carre to get himself into the shape they want him to be in before the Rugby World Cup comes around. He is comfortably one of the three best loose-heads in Wales, but this runs a little deeper. It would suggest that Pivac has hinted at non-selection with Carre if he did not hit certain targets and has stayed true to his word.
Explaining the decision, Pivac said: "Rhys went to South Africa and he was given a brief coming back as to what we expected from him in terms of his general conditioning, getting himself in the right shape to play international rugby and he's fallen short of that. So he's got a lot of hard work to do with his club. He's having some big moments in games, which is clear for everyone to see, but at Test level it's about 60 or 20 minutes of intense rugby and he hasn't quite reached the level of conditioning required to survive in our camps."
Carre remains right in the thick of the World Cup debate but it is clear Pivac wants to see improvements in his conditioning.
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Ross Moriarty
The hard-hitting back-rower has been at his confrontational best since returning from suffering nerve damage in his knee which meant he missed the summer tour to South Africa.
He has had a handful of games to get himself up and running and has been as industrious as ever. Pivac suggested in his press conference, though, that he wanted Moriarty to keep chipping away at the Dragons, priming himself for the Six Nations.
He said: "In terms of Ross, that was a tough conversation because he's come back from injury. He's a hard-nosed player, we all know what he has done, 50-odd Test matches. But, again, this is the last opportunity for us to have a look at a few others. There are some quality players that are always going to miss out but it's not as if we've selected the squad with a view of whether Ross is good enough to play Test rugby, because we know he is.
"We need to learn more about others. He knows his target is the Six Nations and we've given him a couple of things in his game that we know he'll go away and work on."
His World Cup race is by no means run and it sounds like Pivac is expecting a big Six Nations from him.
Thomas Young
In the view of Cardiff director of rugby, and Thomas' father, Dai Young, the openside couldn't have done any more to catch the eye of the Wales management after sterling back-to-back performances against the Scarlets and Dragons in the last fortnight.
But he has once again been left on the sidelines, with a year now having passed since his last involvement with the national side. Pivac explained that Young was in direct competition with Tommy Reffell and Jac Morgan, both of whom have also been in outstanding form at domestic level.
Reffell, the incumbent, was always likely to earn a recall after performing well for Leicester in recent weeks, while Justin Tipuric, who has not played a lot of rugby, adds a lot of experience to the department. Josh Macleod, who is still uncapped, got the nod because of his versatility, filling the void left behind by the injured Josh Navidi.
On the decision, Pivac said: "Thomas was up against Tommy Reffell and Jac Morgan, and we've gone with the other two. If you look at the Josh Navidi type of player, we think Josh Macleod is potentially that type of player and we also think Justin Tipuric can play more than just seven, we think he can play at six or eight at a pinch as well."
It is starting to feel like Young, rightly or wrongly, is really up against it if he's going to force his way into the Wales squad in the next 12 months.
Keelan Giles
The Ospreys speedster has been in fine form for his region so far this season, scoring tries regularly and producing searing breaks in pretty much every game he has played so far. It seems he was in direct competition with the Dragons' Rio Dyer, who has been given the nod for his size, ability in the air and the fact he impressed the Wales management when he trained with the group ahead of the South Africa trip.
Pivac explained: "They're both very quick and explosive. Rio has got a little bit more size and, in the modern game, there's no getting away from the fact that there are a lot of big blokes on the park. One's playing on the left, one is playing on the right. We look at the make-up of the squad and the difference betw.een club rugby and the requirements of Test rugby have led to us giving Rio the nod."
Giles' outlook in this Rugby World Cup is looking bleak.
Pick the best Wales team from the autumn squad
Gareth Davies
Form has really been the issue for the Scarlets scrum-half and, at present, you'd have a hard time making a case for him being among the three best No. 9s.
He looked out of sorts in the game against Cardiff two weeks ago and the Scarlets looked more dangerous when Kieran Hardy was introduced. He has not slipped out of the reckoning completely and Pivac is very familiar with his qualities, but it seems he needs to concentrate on getting some form back with his club during the autumn period.
"We've been monitoring a number of half-backs outside of the three we've been selecting recently for a long time," said Pivac. "We know what Gareth can and can't do."
Davies will still form a part of selection discussions moving forward but he really needs to show an uptick in his level of performance for his club.
Callum Sheedy
It seems like Sheedy has slipped down the pecking order, largely owing to where he plays his club rugby. His non-selection here suggests he has slipped below fourth in the depth chart, with Dan Biggar missing this campaign through injury.
A big onus for Pivac has been selecting players who he has at his disposal for the entire campaign, but those based in England must return to their clubs on Tuesday nights if they are not involved in the matchday squad. It means Pivac would be down on numbers for the majority of the week and that has given a player like Sam Costelow, who is based in Wales, the edge.
"If we selected Callum, he goes back after a Tuesday and that counted against him, and I've had that discussion with him," says Pivac.
At the start of Pivac's reign, it looked as though Sheedy was going to be Dan Biggar's understudy but he has fallen down the pecking order, not helped by his relative unavailability for training compared to his rivals.
Things are not looking good for the fly-half with one eye on next year's World Cup.
Jarrod Evans
Evans is a little unlucky and his omission is possibly linked to Liam Williams' injury.
Pivac made a point of stating that Gareth Anscombe and Rhys Priestland can both cover full-back, with Leigh Halfpenny being the only recognised No. 15 in the squad. Had Williams been fit, Pivac may have been more inclined to select someone like Evans, who is an out-and-out No. 10, but perhaps now feels like he needs more cover.
The Wales boss is also keen on players who can operate in multiple positions, with a view on the World Cup.
The only area of Evans' game which continues to be a work on, according to Cardiff boss Dai Young, is his kicking and game management, but we have seen improvements in that area so far this season.
Another whose World Cup prospects are now looking a little bleak.
Willis Halaholo
The hot-stepping Cardiff centre looks like he's building some decent form after making his first start of the season against the Scarlets a fortnight ago.
He was to the fore in that win and looked threatening at times against the Dragons a week later but has been left out of the Wales squad, having been a regular in it throughout the early part of Pivac's reign. The injury to Johnny Williams seemed to open the door a little but Pivac has opted to give highly-rated youngster Joe Hawkins some time in the saddle.
Halaholo, by his own admission, has had to work on making himself more durable after suffering a plethora of injuries since he was introduced to Test rugby in the 2021 Six Nations.
He does offer something different to the other options Pivac has at centre but he needs to prove he can stay fit for a sustained period of time. Going to a World Cup, players who regularly get injured are viewed as a bit of a liability. Lack of durability was the reason Warren Gatland stunned everyone and omitted Rob Evans from his World Cup squad last time around.
Bradley Roberts
It's a tough one for Roberts, who joined the Dragons to further his international career after being a surprise selection in the 2021 Six Nations. He has only two caps to his name and hasn't featured since last year's autumn internationals.
He has been showing some good form this season and was the club's standout player against Cardiff on Saturday. He has been getting the nod ahead of experienced Wales hooker Elliot Dee, which is no mean feat.
Unfortunately for Roberts, Wales have a fair bit of quality in the position with Ken Owens returning to fitness and going straight back into the squad. Dewi Lake is viewed as the long-term successor in that position and Ryan Elias has proven to be a very handy person to have around the environment.
Right now, Roberts appears to be up against it in terms of making next year's World Cup but all he can do is keep playing well for the Dragons and hope Pivac takes a shine.
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