2022 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa

The Wales national rugby union team toured South Africa in July 2022 for a series of three test matches against the South Africa national team. It was the seventh time Wales had toured South Africa in test history. In each of the previous 10 matches contested between the two nations on South African soil – the first of which took place in 1964 – South Africa were the victors.

2022 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa
Coach(es)Wayne Pivac
Tour captain(s)Dan Biggar
Top test point scorer(s)Dan Biggar (26)
Top test try scorer(s)Louis Rees-Zammit (2)
Summary
P W D L
Total
03 01 00 02
Test match
03 01 00 02
Opponent
P W D L
 South Africa
3 1 0 2
Tour chronology
Previous tourArgentina 2018
Next tourAustralia 2024

South Africa took the lead in the 2022 test series, beating Wales by 32–29 in Pretoria on 2 July. A week later, Wales made history with their first ever test victory in South Africa, leveling the series by winning 13–12 in Bloemfontein on 9 July. The decider took place in Cape Town on 16 July, with South Africa winning 30–14 to take the series.

Squads

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South Africa

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South Africa named their squad for the three-test series on 11 June 2022. Coach Jacques Nienaber picked 43 players, including eight who were yet to win a cap for the Springboks: Evan Roos, Elrigh Louw, Ruan Nortjé, Salmaan Moerat, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Deon Fourie, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Grant Williams.[1]

Caps and ages are as of 2 July 2022, prior to the first test.

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Joseph Dweba Hooker (1995-10-25)25 October 1995 (aged 26) 1   Bordeaux
Malcolm Marx Hooker (1994-07-13)13 July 1994 (aged 27) 46   Kubota Spears
Bongi Mbonambi Hooker (1991-01-07)7 January 1991 (aged 31) 48   Sharks
Thomas du Toit Prop (1995-05-05)5 May 1995 (aged 27) 13   Sharks
Steven Kitshoff Prop (1992-02-10)10 February 1992 (aged 30) 59   Stormers
Vincent Koch Prop (1990-03-13)13 March 1990 (aged 32) 31   Saracens
Frans Malherbe Prop (1991-03-14)14 March 1991 (aged 31) 46   Stormers
Ntuthuko Mchunu Prop (1999-04-05)5 April 1999 (aged 23) 0   Sharks
Ox Nché Prop (1995-07-23)23 July 1995 (aged 26) 9   Sharks
Trevor Nyakane Prop (1989-05-04)4 May 1989 (aged 33) 54   Racing 92
Lood de Jager Lock (1992-12-17)17 December 1992 (aged 29) 56   Sale Sharks
Eben Etzebeth Lock (1991-10-29)29 October 1991 (aged 30) 97   Sharks
Salmaan Moerat Lock (1998-03-06)6 March 1998 (aged 24) 0   Stormers
Ruan Nortjé Lock (1998-07-25)25 July 1998 (aged 23) 0   Bulls
Franco Mostert Lock (1990-11-27)27 November 1990 (aged 31) 51   Mie Honda Heat
Marvin Orie Lock (1993-02-15)15 February 1993 (aged 29) 7   Stormers
Pieter-Steph du Toit Loose forward (1992-08-20)20 August 1992 (aged 29) 58   Toyota Verblitz
Marcell Coetzee Loose forward (1991-05-08)8 May 1991 (aged 31) 30   Bulls
Rynhardt Elstadt Loose forward (1989-10-20)20 October 1989 (aged 32) 3   Toulouse
Deon Fourie Loose forward (1986-09-25)25 September 1986 (aged 35) 0   Stormers
Siya Kolisi (c) Loose forward (1991-06-16)16 June 1991 (aged 31) 63   Sharks
Elrigh Louw Loose forward (1999-10-20)20 October 1999 (aged 22) 0   Bulls
Evan Roos Loose forward (2000-01-21)21 January 2000 (aged 22) 0   Stormers
Kwagga Smith Loose forward (1993-06-11)11 June 1993 (aged 29) 19   Shizuoka Blue Revs
Jasper Wiese Loose forward (1995-10-21)21 October 1995 (aged 26) 11   Leicester Tigers
Faf de Klerk Scrum-half (1991-10-19)19 October 1991 (aged 30) 36   Sale Sharks
Jaden Hendrikse Scrum-half (2000-03-23)23 March 2000 (aged 22) 2   Sharks
Herschel Jantjies Scrum-half (1996-04-22)22 April 1996 (aged 26) 21   Stormers
Cobus Reinach Scrum-half (1990-02-07)7 February 1990 (aged 32) 21   Montpellier
Grant Williams Scrum-half (1996-07-22)22 July 1996 (aged 25) 0   Sharks
Elton Jantjies Fly-half (1990-08-01)1 August 1990 (aged 31) 44   NTT Red Hurricanes
Handré Pollard Fly-half (1994-03-11)11 March 1994 (aged 28) 60   Montpellier
Lukhanyo Am Centre (1993-11-28)28 November 1993 (aged 28) 26   Sharks
Damian de Allende Centre (1991-11-25)25 November 1991 (aged 30) 58   Munster
André Esterhuizen Centre (1994-03-30)30 March 1994 (aged 28) 8   Harlequins
Jesse Kriel Centre (1994-02-15)15 February 1994 (aged 28) 51   Yokohama Canon Eagles
Cheslin Kolbe Wing (1993-10-28)28 October 1993 (aged 28) 18   Toulon
Makazole Mapimpi Wing (1990-07-26)26 July 1990 (aged 31) 25   Sharks
Kurt-Lee Arendse Wing (1996-06-17)17 June 1996 (aged 26) 0   Bulls
Aphelele Fassi Fullback (1998-01-23)23 January 1998 (aged 24) 2   Sharks
Warrick Gelant Fullback (1995-05-20)20 May 1995 (aged 27) 9   Stormers
Willie le Roux Fullback (1989-08-18)18 August 1989 (aged 32) 71   Toyota Verblitz
Damian Willemse Fullback (1998-05-07)7 May 1998 (aged 24) 15   Stormers

Wales

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Wales coach Wayne Pivac named a squad of 33 for the tour, including two uncapped players in forwards Tommy Reffell and James Ratti, while flanker Dan Lydiate, fly-half Rhys Patchell and centre George North made their returns after long absences due to injury.[2] Surprise omissions from the squad included forwards Seb Davies, James Botham and Jac Morgan.[3][4] On 7 June, Dragons prop Leon Brown pulled out through injury and was replaced by Sam Wainwright.[5] Scarlets prop Harri O'Connor was added to the squad on 21 June.[6] Fly-half Gareth Anscombe joined up with the squad on 28 June, having stayed back in Wales pending the birth of his second child.[7]

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Ryan Elias Hooker (1995-01-07) 7 January 1995 (age 29) 27   Scarlets
Dewi Lake Hooker (1999-05-16) 16 May 1999 (age 25) 5   Ospreys
Sam Parry Hooker (1991-12-17) 17 December 1991 (age 32) 5   Ospreys
Rhys Carré Prop (1998-02-08) 8 February 1998 (age 26) 16   Cardiff
Tomas Francis Prop (1992-04-27) 27 April 1992 (age 32) 64   Ospreys
Wyn Jones Prop (1992-02-26) 26 February 1992 (age 32) 43   Scarlets
Dillon Lewis Prop (1996-01-04) 4 January 1996 (age 28) 38   Cardiff
Harri O'Connor Prop (2000-10-25) 25 October 2000 (age 24) 0   Scarlets
Gareth Thomas Prop (1993-08-02) 2 August 1993 (age 31) 10   Ospreys
Sam Wainwright Prop (1998-05-07) 7 May 1998 (age 26) 0   Saracens
Adam Beard Lock (1996-01-07) 7 January 1996 (age 28) 34   Ospreys
Ben Carter Lock (2001-01-23) 23 January 2001 (age 23) 6   Dragons
Alun Wyn Jones Lock (1985-09-19) 19 September 1985 (age 39) 150   Ospreys
Will Rowlands Lock (1991-09-19) 19 September 1991 (age 33) 18   Dragons
Taine Basham Back row (1999-11-02) 2 November 1999 (age 25) 10   Dragons
Taulupe Faletau Back row (1990-11-12) 12 November 1990 (age 34) 89   Bath
Dan Lydiate Back row (1987-12-18) 18 December 1987 (age 36) 65   Ospreys
Josh Navidi Back row (1990-12-30) 30 December 1990 (age 33) 30   Cardiff
James Ratti Back row (1997-10-14) 14 October 1997 (age 27) 0   Cardiff
Tommy Reffell Back row (1999-04-27) 27 April 1999 (age 25) 0   Leicester Tigers
Gareth Davies Scrum-half (1990-08-18) 18 August 1990 (age 34) 67   Scarlets
Kieran Hardy Scrum-half (1995-11-30) 30 November 1995 (age 29) 11   Scarlets
Tomos Williams Scrum-half (1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 (age 29) 33   Cardiff
Gareth Anscombe Fly-half (1991-05-10) 10 May 1991 (age 33) 31   Ospreys
Dan Biggar Fly-half (1989-10-16) 16 October 1989 (age 35) 100   Northampton Saints
Rhys Patchell Fly-half (1993-05-17) 17 May 1993 (age 31) 21   Scarlets
George North Centre (1992-04-13) 13 April 1992 (age 32) 102   Ospreys
Nick Tompkins Centre (1995-02-16) 16 February 1995 (age 29) 20   Saracens
Owen Watkin Centre (1996-10-12) 12 October 1996 (age 28) 31   Ospreys
Johnny Williams Centre (1996-10-18) 18 October 1996 (age 28) 5   Scarlets
Josh Adams Wing (1995-04-21) 21 April 1995 (age 29) 39   Cardiff
Alex Cuthbert Wing (1990-04-05) 5 April 1990 (age 34) 51   Ospreys
Louis Rees-Zammit Wing (2001-02-02) 2 February 2001 (age 23) 16   Gloucester
Liam Williams Fullback (1991-04-09) 9 April 1991 (age 33) 78   Scarlets

Fixtures

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The tour was confirmed in February 2022, with the two sides scheduled to play three tests in July 2022. The first test would be played at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 2 July, the second test at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on 9 July, and the third test at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town on 16 July.[8]

1st test

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2 July 2022
17:05 SAST (UTC+02)
South Africa  32–29  Wales
Try: Mbonambi 46' c
Marx 51' m
Kolbe 66' c
Penalty try 75'
Con: Willemse (2/3) 48', 68'
Pen: E. Jantjies (1/3) 17'
Willemse (1/1) 80+3'
ReportTry: Rees-Zammit (2) 3' m, 32' c
Lake 77' m
Con: Biggar (1/3) 34'
Pen: Biggar (3/3) 20', 55', 63'
Drop: Biggar (1/1) 9'
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Attendance: 51,762
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Team details
FB 15 Damian Willemse
RW 14 Cheslin Kolbe
OC 13 Lukhanyo Am
IC 12 Damian de Allende
LW 11 Makazole Mapimpi
FH 10 Elton Jantjies   41'
SH 9 Faf de Klerk   71'
N8 8 Jasper Wiese
BF 7 Franco Mostert   51'
OF 6 Siya Kolisi (c)   51'
RL 5 Lood de Jager
LL 4 Eben Etzebeth   70'
TP 3 Frans Malherbe   50'
HK 2 Bongi Mbonambi   50'
LP 1 Ox Nché   50'
Replacements:
HK 16 Malcolm Marx   50'
PR 17 Steven Kitshoff   50'
PR 18 Vincent Koch   50'
LK 19 Salmaan Moerat   70'
FL 20 Elrigh Louw   51'
FL 21 Kwagga Smith   51'
SH 22 Herschel Jantjies   71'
FB 23 Willie le Roux   41'
Coach:
  Jacques Nienaber
 
FB 15 Liam Williams
RW 14 Louis Rees-Zammit   74'
OC 13 George North
IC 12 Nick Tompkins
LW 11 Josh Adams   63'
FH 10 Dan Biggar (c)   38'
SH 9 Kieran Hardy   53'
N8 8 Taulupe Faletau
OF 7 Tommy Reffell
BF 6 Dan Lydiate   63'
RL 5 Adam Beard   50'
LL 4 Will Rowlands
TP 3 Dillon Lewis   45'   50'
HK 2 Ryan Elias   50'
LP 1 Gareth Thomas   53'
Replacements:
HK 16 Dewi Lake   50'
PR 17 Rhys Carre   75'   53'
PR 18 Tomas Francis   45'   50'
LK 19 Alun Wyn Jones   66'   50'
FL 20 Josh Navidi   63'
SH 21 Tomos Williams   53'
FH 22 Gareth Anscombe
CE 23 Owen Watkin   63'
Coach:
  Wayne Pivac

Assistant referees:
Angus Gardner (Australia)
Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Television match official:
Joy Neville (Ireland)

Notes:

2nd test

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9 July 2022
17:05 SAST (UTC+02)
South Africa  12–13  Wales
Pen: Pollard (4/6) 5', 43', 51', 59'ReportTry: Adams 77' c
Con: Anscombe (1/1) 78'
Pen: Biggar (1/2) 2'
Anscombe (1/2) 66'
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Team details
FB 15 Warrick Gelant
RW 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse
OC 13 Jesse Kriel
IC 12 André Esterhuizen
LW 11 Aphelele Fassi   67'
FH 10 Handré Pollard (c)   73'
SH 9 Jaden Hendrikse
N8 8 Evan Roos   47'
BF 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit
OF 6 Marcell Coetzee   47'
RL 5 Marvin Orie   59'
LL 4 Eben Etzebeth
TP 3 Trevor Nyakane   41'
HK 2 Joseph Dweba   41'
LP 1 Thomas du Toit   47'
Replacements:
HK 16 Malcolm Marx   41'
PR 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu   47'
PR 18 Vincent Koch   41'
LK 19 Ruan Nortjé   59'
FL 20 Rynhardt Elstadt   47'
FL 21 Deon Fourie   47'
SH 22 Grant Williams   73'
FB 23 Damian Willemse   67'
Coach:
  Jacques Nienaber
 
FB 15 Liam Williams
RW 14 Louis Rees-Zammit
OC 13 George North
IC 12 Nick Tompkins
LW 11 Alex Cuthbert   17'
FH 10 Dan Biggar (c)   50'
SH 9 Kieran Hardy   41'
N8 8 Taulupe Faletau
OF 7 Tommy Reffell
BF 6 Dan Lydiate   59'
RL 5 Adam Beard
LL 4 Will Rowlands   54'
TP 3 Dillon Lewis   65'
HK 2 Ryan Elias   49'
LP 1 Gareth Thomas   49'
Replacements:
HK 16 Dewi Lake   49'
PR 17 Wyn Jones   49'
PR 18 Sam Wainwright   65'
LK 19 Alun Wyn Jones   56'   54'
FL 20 Josh Navidi   59'
SH 21 Tomos Williams   41'
FH 22 Gareth Anscombe   50'
WG 23 Josh Adams   17'
Coach:
  Wayne Pivac

Assistant referees:
Matthew Carley (England)
Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Television match official:
Brett Cronan (Australia)

Notes:

3rd test

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16 July 2022
17:05 SAST (UTC+02)
South Africa  30–14  Wales
Try: Pollard 14' c
Mbonambi 38' c
Kolisi 53' c
Con: Pollard (3/3) 16', 39', 54'
Pen: Pollard (3/3) 5', 78', 80+1'
ReportTry: Reffell 19' m
Pen: Biggar (3/3) 33', 42', 48'
Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Team details
FB 15 Damian Willemse
RW 14 Cheslin Kolbe   21'
OC 13 Lukhanyo Am
IC 12 Damian de Allende
LW 11 Makazole Mapimpi
FH 10 Handré Pollard
SH 9 Jaden Hendrikse   65'
N8 8 Jasper Wiese   39'
BF 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit   77'
OF 6 Siya Kolisi (c)
RL 5 Lood de Jager
LL 4 Eben Etzebeth   61'
TP 3 Frans Malherbe   45'
HK 2 Bongi Mbonambi   45'
LP 1 Trevor Nyakane   45'
Replacements:
HK 16 Malcolm Marx   45'
PR 17 Steven Kitshoff   45'
PR 18 Vincent Koch   45'
LK 19 Franco Mostert   61'
FL 20 Kwagga Smith   39'
FL 21 Elrigh Louw   77'
SH 22 Faf de Klerk   65'
FB 23 Willie le Roux   21'
Coach:
  Jacques Nienaber
 
FB 15 Liam Williams
RW 14 Louis Rees-Zammit
OC 13 George North
IC 12 Nick Tompkins   60'
LW 11 Josh Adams
FH 10 Dan Biggar (c)
SH 9 Kieran Hardy   51'
N8 8 Josh Navidi
OF 7 Tommy Reffell   55'
BF 6 Dan Lydiate   16'
RL 5 Adam Beard
LL 4 Will Rowlands
TP 3 Dillon Lewis   41'
HK 2 Ryan Elias   40'
LP 1 Gareth Thomas   56'
Replacements:
HK 16 Dewi Lake   40'
PR 17 Wyn Jones   56'
PR 18 Sam Wainwright   41'
LK 19 Alun Wyn Jones   16'
FL 20 Taine Basham   55'
SH 21 Tomos Williams   51'
FH 22 Rhys Patchell
CE 23 Owen Watkin   60'
Coach:
  Wayne Pivac

Assistant referees:
Angus Gardner (Australia)
Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Television match official:
Brett Cronan (Australia)

Notes:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "South Africa call up eight uncapped players ahead of Wales visit". BBC Sport. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Uncapped pair Tommy Reffell and James Ratti named by Wales for South Africa trip". BBC Sport. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Cardiff boss Dai Young disappointed by Wales omissions for Seb Davies and James Botham". BBC Sport. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Jac Morgan: Ospreys surprised by reasons for omission of Wales flanker". BBC Sport. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Sam Wainwright replaces injured prop Leon Brown in Wales squad for South Africa". BBC Sport. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Wales v South Africa: Scarlets prop Harri O'Connor called up for Springboks tour". BBC Sport. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Gareth Anscombe: Wales fly-half joins squad in South Africa". BBC Sport. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  8. ^ "South Africa tour: Springboks confirm three July 2022 test dates for Wales visit". BBC Sport. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.