ROBIN McBryde insists Ospreys fly-half Matthew Morgan remains on Wales's radar despite his exclusion from the tour party to Japan.
The 21-year-old wasn't picked in the original 32-man training squad, and when Scarlets No. 10 Rhys Priestland was withdrawn after aggravating his Achilles injury, McBryde instead turned to the Wales Under-20 ranks and brought in Blues talent Rhys Patchell.
"Matthew's on the radar," said McBryde. "We're not a big enough nation and haven't got enough players to discount anybody.
"The door is always open, but we need to be mindful of the fact this is a Welsh team and, whilst there are a number of developing players among the group, this is what we think is our strongest team to go to Japan to face a stern challenge.
"We've had long discussions with regard to the inclusion of Rhys Patchell and whether it would be the best thing for him to go to the Under-20 World Cup. During the Six Nations Rhys wasn't far away but he suffered an injury with his shoulder.
"Matthew is a good player, he's got talent.
"He's a different type of player to Rhys Patchell. At the moment, we just feel Rhys is the best player for us."
Meanwhile, McBryde says he is looking forward to seeing how Steven Shingler — a former under-20s team-mate of Morgan — has developed during his two-year spell with London Irish in the Aviva Premiership. Shingler found himself out in the cold at the Madejski towards the end of the season, but McBryde has been impressed by the 21-year-old during training.
"He's a versatile player who can cover 10, 12, 13 and 15 and is a very talented individual," he said.
"I was fortunate to work with him when I spent a year at the Scarlets in 2010.
"He was highly regarded at the time and it will be interesting to see how he's developed.
"Perhaps it's a little bit of a gamble — it always is when you select someone who hasn't had a regular run of games, but in training he's been good to have around the group and he's contributing to the environment, which is great."
