2022 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa

2022 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa
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
Total
03	01
Test match
03	01
Opponent
P	W
South Africa
3	1
Tour chronology
Previous tour	Argentina 2018
Next tour	Australia 2024

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.

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

South Africa

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

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 33)	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 28)	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

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

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'	Report	Try: 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:

Elrigh Louw, Salmaan Moerat (both South Africa) and Tommy Reffell (Wales) made their international debuts.

2nd test

9 July 2022
17:05 SAST (UTC+02)

South Africa	12–13	Wales
Pen: Pollard (4/6) 5', 43', 51', 59'	Report	Try: 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:

This was Wales' first ever victory over South Africa in a test match on South African soil.
Kurt-Lee Arendse, Deon Fourie, Ntuthuko Mchunu, Ruan Nortjé, Evan Roos, Grant Williams (all South Africa) and Sam Wainwright (Wales) made their international debuts.

3rd test

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'	Report	Try: 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:

Taulupe Faletau and Gareth Anscombe were originally named in the Wales team, but pulled out during the warm-up. Faletau was replaced in the starting line-up by Josh Navidi, whose place on the bench was taken by Taine Basham, while Anscombe's place among the replacements was taken by Rhys Patchell.
Eben Etzebeth (South Africa) earned his 100th test cap.
Bongi Mbonambi (South Africa) earned his 50th test cap.

References

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

[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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

v t e Rugby union tours of South Africa
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New Zealand	1928 1949 1960 1970 1976 1992 1996
Australia	1933 1953 1961 1963 1969 1992
Argentina	1965 (no test) 1971 (no test) 1994 2002 2003
England	1972 1984 1994 1998 2000 2007 2012 2018
France	1958 1964 1967 1971 1975 1980 1993 2001 2005 2006 2017
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Various selections	1978 ((American Cougars) 1980 (Sudamérica XV) 1982 (Sudamérica XV) 1985 (Cavaliers) 1987 (South Sea Barbarians) 1989 (World XV)

Squads

South Africa

Wales

Fixtures

1st test

2nd test

3rd test

See also

References