2014 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa
2014 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa | |||||
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Coach(es) | Warren Gatland | ||||
Tour captain(s) | Alun Wyn Jones | ||||
Top point scorer(s) | Dan Biggar (24) | ||||
Top try scorer(s) | Alex Cuthbert (3) | ||||
Top test point scorer(s) | Dan Biggar (24) | ||||
Top test try scorer(s) | Alex Cuthbert (2) | ||||
Summary |
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Total |
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Test match |
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Opponent |
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South Africa |
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Tour chronology | |||||
Previous tour | Japn 2013 | ||||
Next tour | New Zealand 2016 |
In June 2014, Wales toured South Africa, playing a 2-test series against the Springboks.[1] In addition to the two Test matches, Wales also played a warm-up uncapped match against domestic club side Eastern Province Kings.[2] The three matches coincided with the June International Window, playing in the second and third week of the window.
Wales entered the test series on the back of 14 consecutive losses to South Africa; the last time Wales won against South Africa was in June 1999, the only time Wales have beaten South Africa. Wales were on 16 consecutive losses to the Southern Hemisphere greats, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, with the last time they beat a Southern Hemisphere great was in November 2008, and have not won an away match to the Southern Hemisphere greats since 1969.
The 14 consecutive losses to South Africa were extended to 16, while the 16 consecutive losses to the Southern Hemisphere greats were extended to 18 following a 2–0 series defeat. The only win of the tour came in the un-capped match against the Eastern Province Kings, 34–12. During the test series, Wales and South Africa contested the Prince William Cup, which South Africa retained with the series victory. It was the seventh time South Africa won the trophy to Wales' zero.
Fixtures
Date and time | Venue | Home | Score | Away |
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10 June 2014, 19:00 SAST (UTC+02) | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth | Eastern Province Kings | 12–34 | Wales |
14 June 2014, 17:00 SAST (UTC+02) | Growthpoint Kings Park, Durban | South Africa | 38–16 | Wales |
21 June 2014, 15:00 SAST (UTC+02) | Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit | South Africa | 31–30 | Wales |
Matches
Eastern Province Kings
Eastern Province Kings | 12–34 | Wales |
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Try: Soyizwapi 56' m Kerrod 78' c Con: Whitehead (1/2) 79' |
Report | Try: Turnbull 9' c Allen 14' c Hook 44' c Cuthbert 46' m Davies 61' m Con: Hook (3/5) 11', 15', 45' Pen: Hook (1/1) 39' |
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth [3] Attendance: 11,828 Referee: Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa) |
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- George North was ruled out of the match, as he was still suffering from a virus hours before kick-off. No other player replaced him in the match-day 23.
First test
South Africa | 38–16 | Wales |
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Try: Habana (2) 6' c, 20' c Vermeulen 15' c Le Roux 37' c Hendricks 51' c Con: Steyn (5/5) 7', 17', 21', 38', 52' Pen: Steyn (1/1) 44' |
Report | Try: Cuthbert 68' c Con: Hook (1/1) 69' Pen: Biggar (1/1) 40' Drop: Biggar (2/2) 2', 19' |
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- Cornal Hendricks and Lood de Jager made their international debuts for South Africa.
- Victor Matfield joined John Smit as the most capped South African player with 111 caps.
- Gareth Davies and Matthew Morgan made their international debuts for Wales.
- Adam Jones played his 100th test match; 95 for Wales and 5 for the British and Irish Lions.
Second test
South Africa | 31–30 | Wales |
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Try: Penalty try (2) 32' c, 77' c Hendricks 33' c Le Roux 71' c Con: Steyn (4/4) 32', 35', 72', 78' Pen: Steyn (1/2) 55' |
Report | Try: Roberts 18' c Cuthbert 21' c Owens 45' c Con: Biggar (3/3) 19', 22', 45' Pen: Biggar (3/4) 12', 56', 65' |
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- Victor Matfield surpassed John Smit, to become South Arica's most capped player with 112 caps.
- South Africa retain the Prince William Cup for the seventh time.
Squads
Wales
Pre tour, the Welsh Rugby Union announced that on 30 May, a Wales senior trial match would take place at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, the first of its kind in 14 years.[5] It was the final chance to impress the Wales management ahead of the tour to South Africa. The failure of the Welsh regions to qualify for the 2013–14 Pro12 play-offs, meant for many of the players, there would be a five-week gap between the end of the season and the first Test. The teams were announced on 13 May, with the Probables Squad be coached by Rob Howley, and the Possibles Squad being coach by Robin McBryde.[6] However, English based players were not released by the Aviva Premiership clubs as the match fell outside the international window, and the clubs do not have to release players according to the IRB regulations.[7] This meant, the trail teams were made up solely of Welsh-based players and French based players released by their clubs.
Trail match
Probables | 55–7 | Possibles |
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Try: J. Williams (2) 2' m, 79 c Biggar 5' c J. Davies (3) 23' c, 25' c, 46' c L. Williams 35' m Baldwin 43' c Con: Biggar (6/8) 6', 24', 26', 44', 47', 80' Pen: Biggar (1/1) 12' |
Report | Try: G. Davies 60' c Con: Hook (1/1) 60' |
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Note: Players in Bold denotes players that are internationally capped.
Touring squad
Head coach Warren Gatland named a 32-man squad following the trail match, for the 2-test series against South Africa.[8] It included 19 players from the Probables squad, 10 players from the Possibles squad and 3 players that did not feature in the Trail match.
Head Coach: Warren Gatland
Note: Caps and ages are to pre first test match - 14 June 2014.
South AfricaOn 31 May, coach Heyneke Meyer named a 36-man squad for the 2-test series against Wales, and the single test match against Scotland, plus the uncapped match against a World XV side.[9] On 2 June, Damian de Allende was withdrawn from the squad due to injury. He was replaced by Marnitz Boshoff.[10] On 8 June, Trevor Nyakane was added to the squad to provide further cover in his respective position.[11] Head Coach: Heyneke Meyer Note: Caps and ages are to pre first test match - 14 June 2014.
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