Wales Summer Tour Squad

After making history last weekend, Wales were unable to do it again this weekend and lost their Test series in South Africa 2-1.

South Africa overpowered Wales to win the third Test in Cape Town 30-14. The tourists, as ever, were competitive and, after being on the back foot for the first 15 minutes and conceding a try to Handre Pollard, they recovered to score a try of their own through Tommy Reffell.

Bongi Mbonambi crossed just before the break to give the Springboks a 17-8 half-time lead, but Dan Biggar punished the hosts’ ill-discipline by slotting two penalties early in the second period to reduce the deficit to just three points.

In between Siya Kolisi scoring a try and Pollard kicking a couple of late penalties, Wales had chances in the South African half but were unable to capitalise on them.

Still, they return home as history makers and will be feeling far more positive than they were a few months ago at the end of the Six Nations.

Wales team to play South Africa – Saturday 16 July

Liam Williams; Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar (captain), Kieran Hardy; Gareth Thomas, Ryan Elias, Dillon Lewis, Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Dan Lydiate, Tommy Reffell, Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: Dewi Lake, Wyn Jones, Sam Wainwright, Alun Wyn Jones, Josh Navidi, Tomos Williams, Rhys Patchell, Owen Watkin.

Second Test – South Africa 12-13 Wales

Gareth Anscombe kicked a touchline conversion to give Wales their first-ever win over the Springboks on South African soil.

Anscombe had kicked one penalty and missed another since arriving as a replacement for captain Dan Biggar, but he made no mistake from the tee after Josh Adams had scored a try in the 78th minute.

That gave Wales a 13-12 lead and they were able to see out the final seconds of the match – credit to debutant Sam Wainwright for his performance in a late scrum – to hold on for an historic win in Bloemfontein.

The Springboks had looked in control at the hour mark, with four penalties from Handre Pollard giving the world champions a 12-3 lead – and they had a man advantage with Alun Wyn Jones yellow-carded.

However, Wales made South Africa pay for their ill-discipline as they got themselves back into the match, took the lead and closed out a famous victory.

Tommy Reffell was arguably the star of the show with his turnovers and tackles – the Wales defence all round was impressive. They now head to Cape Town for the series decider next Saturday. Will there be late drama once again?

Wales team to play South Africa – Saturday 9 July

Liam Williams; Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Nick Tompkins, Alex Cuthbert; Dan Biggar (captain), Kieran Hardy; Gareth Thomas, Ryan Elias, Dillon Lewis, Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Dan Lydiate, Tommy Reffell, Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: Dewi Lake, Wyn Jones, Sam Wainwright, Alun Wyn Jones, Josh Navidi, Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Josh Adams.

First Test – South Africa 32-29 Wales

Wales’ wait for a first win over the Springboks on South African soil goes on, but they came mighty close in the opening match of this three-Test series in Pretoria.

A Louis Rees-Zammit try inside three minutes had given the visitors the perfect start and the winger added a second before the break as Wales built an 18-3 half-time lead.

The Springboks got their maul into gear early in the second half, though, and that resulted in Bongi Mbonambi and Malcolm Marx touching down.

Wales were then made to pay for their ill-discipline – Alun Wyn Jones, Rees-Zammit and Rhys Carre were all sent to the sin-bin in the last quarter. They were down to 12 players for a couple of minutes when Carre was shown yellow for collapsing a maul that led to a penalty try for the Boks.

That gave the hosts a 29-24 lead going into the final five minutes, but Wales hit back when Dewi Lake broke off a maul to score.

Dan Biggar couldn’t convert the try and then conceded a penalty for a deliberate knock-on when the clock was in the red. Damian Willemse kicked the match-winning penalty and it was heartbreak yet again for Wales.

Whether they can reach the same heights in Bloemfontein next week, we’ll have to wait and see.

Wales team to play South Africa – Saturday 2 July

Liam Williams; Louis Rees-Zammit, George North, Nick Tompkins, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar (captain), Kieran Hardy; Gareth Thomas, Ryan Elias, Dillon Lewis, Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Dan Lydiate, Tommy Reffell, Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: Dewi Lake, Rhys Carre, Tomas Francis, Alun Wyn Jones, Josh Navidi, Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Owen Watkin.

Wales Summer Tour squad

We now know who will represent Wales on the July tour of South Africa, as Wayne Pivac named his summer tour squad.

Dan Biggar will continue on as captain of Wales, while Alun Wyn Jones is also in the squad. George North and Dan Lydiate return following lengthy injury lay-offs.

There are also call-ups for potential debutants. Cardiff’s James Ratti comes in after after his stint around the Six Nations squad, and Leicester tigers’ Tommy Reffell is in the mix too.

On captaincy Pivac said: “Dan Biggar is named captain. We’ve obviously got great leadership in the group with Alun Wyn and Dan. Dan did well in the Six Nations and Al has come back from a pretty big lay off. He’s had a little bit of rugby and we want him to hit his straps as a second row and be the best player he can be and focus on playing. He’ll lead naturally anyway but certainly he’s looking forward to that challenge.”

Wales will take on the Springboks in Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Cape Town in successive weeks.

Forwards (19)
Rhys Carre (Cardiff Rugby – 17 caps)
Wyn Jones (Scarlets – 44 caps)
Gareth Thomas (Ospreys – 12 caps)
Ryan Elias (Scarlets – 29 caps)
Dewi Lake (Ospreys – 7 caps)
Sam Parry (Ospreys – 5 caps)
Leon Brown (Dragons – 22 caps)
Tomas Francis (Ospreys – 65 caps) Ruled out of tour after suffering concussion in first Test
Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Rugby – 40 caps)
Adam Beard (Ospreys – 36 caps)
Ben Carter (Dragons – 6 caps)
Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys – 152 caps)
Will Rowlands (Dragons – 20 caps)
Taine Basham (Dragons – 10 caps)
Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby – 91 caps)
Dan Lydiate (Ospreys – 67 caps)
Josh Navidi (Cardiff Rugby – 32 caps)
James Ratti (Cardiff Rugby – uncapped)
Tommy Reffell (Leicester Tigers – 2 caps)
Sam Wainwright (Saracens – 1 cap)

Backs (14)
Gareth Davies (Scarlets – 67 caps)
Kieran Hardy (Scarlets – 13 caps)
Tomos Williams (Cardiff Rugby – 35 caps)
Gareth Anscombe (Ospreys – 32 caps)
Dan Biggar (Northampton Saints – 102 caps) Captain
Rhys Patchell (Scarlets – 21 caps)
George North (Ospreys – 104 caps)
Nick Tompkins (Saracens – 22 caps)
Owen Watkin (Ospreys – 32 caps)
Johnny Williams (Scarlets – 5 caps
Josh Adams (Cardiff Rugby – 41 caps)
Alex Cuthbert (Ospreys – 52 caps)
Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby – 18 caps)
Liam Williams (Scarlets – 80 caps)

Wales Fixtures July 2022

Sat 2 July, South Africa 32-29 Wales

Sat 9 July, South Africa 12-13 Wales

Sat 16 July, South Africa 30-14 Wales

Download the digital edition of Rugby World straight to your tablet or subscribe to the print edition to get the magazine delivered to your door.

Follow Rugby World on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.