Wales face two tough Tests with the Pacific Islanders and warm up for their trip to the southern hemisphere by facing WRU National Cup champions RGC 1404 at Parc Eirias on Friday night.
Former hooker McBryde hopes the arrival of Scarlets stars Scott Williams, Rhys Patchell, Steffan Evans, Aaron Shingler and Aled Davies – who sealed PRO12 glory with an entertaining 46-22 final victory over Munster in Dublin last weekend – can give give his squad a boost.
He said: “It was great to see the Scarlets boys arrive in camp, albeit a bit later than everyone else. The spontaneous applause from the rest of the squad when they walked into the dressing room was fantastic.
“I think everybody who saw the game would have been buoyed by the the manner in which they won the game. The type of rugby they played and the skills on show were excellent.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a successful team in Wales and if we can build on the regional game’s success at international level, that would be fantastic.”
McBryde has selected five uncapped players to face RGC, with Ospreys wing Keelan Giles and scrum-half Davies both given chances to start. In the pack, Adam Beard, Seb Davies and Ollie Griffiths are all fresh faces looking to make an impression in front of a capacity north Wales crowd.
“Everyone managed to get here by Sunday evening and it just goes to show how desperate some of these young players are to make the most of this opportunity,” McBryde said.
“As I’ve said to the players, there’s no point reading too much into the initial selection because it’s not based on performance. It’s based on a number of players needing to have game time and needing to prove their fitness ahead of the tour. It’s an opportunity for me to see how they play with each other.
“For some players it’s about playing in a new position and that’s the case for a few in both the forwards and the backs. It’s an opportunity to look at a few new combinations.”
Wales captain Jamie Roberts, full-back Gareth Anscombe and fly-half Sam Davies all start against RGC.
Nicky Smith, Tomas Francis and Ellis Jenkins are full internationals in the forwards.
McBryde believes the camp in Colwyn Bay is vitally important to their hopes of beating Tonga and Samoa.
He said: “It’s meaningful opposition. RGC have proved how good they are this season and it’s a chance to play against a quality side. That’s an opportunity we didn’t get four years ago and it will give us an indication of where we’re at. We didn’t have to think long and hard about coming here.
“Everything is in place. RGC have a great brand name with their work hosting the Under-20’s and the players talk really highly about the facilities and the warm welcome you get here. It’s important for us because of the short time we have to work together here. The more we do that, the stronger we’ll bond.”
