Wales coach Wayne Pivac has hit back at criticism of the selection of Kiwi duo Willis Halaholo and Johnny McNicholl, the pair both having had their eligibility called into question.
As the Kiwi-born duo both qualified for Wales through a three-year residency, the ex-Hurricanes and Crusaders backs came under fire from former Wales back Gavin Henson.
After Pivac named both 29-year-olds in his squad for last month's Barbarians encounter in Cardiff, Henson labelled the selection as being "so wrong," wanting Welsh born players instead.
Halaholo was ruled out of his potential Wales debut with a knee injury, while McNicholl scored on debut in Wales' 44-33 victory in Cardiff.
Speaking to 1 NEWS today though, Pivac hit out at any criticism coming the duo's way, both having legally and legitimately earned their chances to play Test rugby for Wales.
"What we did was we named a squad - which didn't mean to say players were going to be played, only 23 could play out of the 38 we named," Pivac said.
"A bit presumptuous to think that those guys were automatically be playing.
"There are always going to be those people that want to see Welsh people in there, but under the rules, we can do this.
"They met the residency rules, and we've got to look at the depth in our country. We've [Wales] got an aging midfield, a quality midfield but aging, so we're always looking to see what that next layer looks like."
World Rugby's eligibility laws will change at the end of next year, with the three-year residency period increasing to five years.
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