Wales will take on England and New Zealand this summer with Sam Warburton and Alun Wyn Jones, but without Leigh Halfpenny.
Coach Warren Gatland has said he has gone for experience over experimentation and the confirmation that his two most influential leaders are fit enough to tour underlines that claim.
Both Warburton and Jones have suffered injury problems in recent weeks, but unlike Halfpenny – who has not played since last summer – they have been named in a squad of 35.
There are few surprises – no places for Guinness Pro12 young player of the season Sam Davies of the Ospreys, or the Scarlets’ in-form openside flanker James Davies.
Instead, the squad is a continuation of the group that finished runners-up to England in the Six Nations, with an average tally of 30 caps per man.
Eli Walker, the Ospreys wing whose World Cup was punctuated by injuries, returns and Josh Turnbull, who can play across the back row and has been used lately as a second row by the Cardiff Blues, has also been included.
Wales face England at Twickenham on May 29, an end-of-season, eve-of-tour fixture arranged primarily to fill the coffers for both unions after the World Cup denied them their regular November Test income.
Wales then face their daunting three Test series against the All Blacks with matches scheduled for June 11, 18 and 25.
Gatland said: “We have picked a squad that is packed full of experience for what is going to be a challenging, but exciting five match campaign.
“We will be facing the Six Nations Champions at Twickenham first up and that will be an important start to the tour and will set the tone for the weeks ahead.
“We will have a bit of time together when we land in New Zealand before the first Test then it’s into three Test matches against the All Blacks plus a midweek match against the Chiefs.
“It is a great opportunity for us to test ourselves, build on the World Cup and the Six Nations and it’s a challenge we are all looking forward to.
“We are in a great position in terms of the experience in the squad especially when you look at the age of most of the players and this is going to be another important summer.”
WALES SQUAD:
FORWARDS: Rob Evans (Scarlets), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs), Paul James (Ospreys) Gethin Jenkins (Cardiff Blues), Rhodri Jones (Scarlets), Samson Lee (Scarlets), Scott Baldwin (Ospreys), Kristian Dacey (Cardiff Blues), Ken Owens (Scarlets), Jake Ball (Scarlets), Luke Charteris (Racing Metro), Bradley Davies (Wasps), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Taulupe Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons), James King (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Ospreys), Ross Moriarty (Gloucester), Josh Turnbull (Cardiff Blues), Sam Warburton (Cardiff Blues, CAPT).
BACKS: Gareth Davies (Scarlets), Rhys Webb (Ospreys), Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues), Gareth Anscombe (Cardiff Blues), Dan Biggar (Ospreys), Rhys Priestland (Bath Rugby), Jonathan Davies (Clermont Auvergne), Tyler Morgan (Newport Gwent Dragons), Jamie Roberts (Harlequins), Scott Williams (Scarlets), Hallam Amos (Newport Gwent Dragons), Matthew Morgan (Bristol), Tom James (Cardiff Blues), George North (Northampton Saints), Eli Walker (Ospreys), Liam Williams (Scarlets).
Wales Fixtures: (All times local)
England v Wales, Sunday May 29, Twickenham, KO 15:00
New Zealand v Wales, Saturday June 11, Auckland, KO 19:35
Chiefs v Wales, Tuesday June 14, Hamilton, KO 18:35
New Zealand v Wales, Saturday June 18, Wellington, KO 19:35
New Zealand v Wales, Saturday June 25, Dunedin, KO 19:35
