2002 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa

The Wales national rugby union team toured South Africa in June 2002 for a two-match test series against the South Africa national team. Wales lost the series 2–0, going down 34–19 in the first test and 19–8 in the second. They also played a pre-tour match against the Barbarians, losing 40–25 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

2002 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa
Coach(es)Steve Hansen
Tour captain(s)Colin Charvis
Summary
P W D L
Total
02 00 00 02
Test match
02 00 00 02
Opponent
P W D L
 South Africa
2 0 0 2

It was Steve Hansen's first tour as Wales coach, having taken over in a caretaker capacity after Graham Henry resigned during the 2002 Six Nations Championship. Six Wales players made their test debuts on the tour, including Michael Owen, who became his country's 1,000th test player when he started the first test.

Squads

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Wales

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Following the resignation of Graham Henry as Wales coach in February 2002, forwards coach Steve Hansen was appointed as caretaker for the remainder of the 2002 Six Nations Championship.[1] He was given the job permanently on a two-year contract on 5 April 2002, which meant the tour to South Africa would be his first as head coach of Wales.[2] He named an initial squad of 27 for the tour, including five uncapped players, all forwards for the Pontypridd side that won the Principality Cup and reached the final of the Parker Pen Shield: Mefin Davies, Gethin Jenkins, Robert Sidoli, Richard Parks and Michael Owen; there were also recalls for lock Steve Williams, five years after his last appearance, and prop Ben Evans.[3] Fly-half Neil Jenkins, who last appeared for Wales in their win over Italy in the 2001 Six Nations, was also included in the squad, but it was expected that he would only play in the event of injuries.[4] Surprise omissions from the squad included locks Ian Gough, Craig Quinnell and Chris Wyatt, hooker Barry Williams and flanker Brett Sinkinson, while Scott Quinnell, Gareth Thomas, Spencer John, Andy Moore, Nathan Bonner-Evans, Mark Jones and Nathan Budgett were all left out due to injury.[3]

Neath centre James Storey – who qualified to play for Wales on residency grounds on 1 June 2002 – and Cardiff scrum-half Ryan Powell were called up in May 2002 after Gareth Cooper (foot) and Dafydd James (elbow) were ruled out due to injury.[5] Fly-half Iestyn Harris pulled out with a groin injury on 18 May 2002; no replacement was called up as Neil Jenkins was already in the squad in that capacity.[6] Uncapped prop Martyn Madden was added to the squad after Chris Anthony injured his shoulder in training ahead of the match against the Barbarians.[7]

Name Position Club Notes
Mefin Davies Hooker Pontypridd
Robin McBryde Hooker Llanelli
Chris Anthony Prop Newport Withdrew due to injury
Ben Evans Prop Swansea
Gethin Jenkins Prop Pontypridd
Martyn Madden Prop Llanelli Injury replacement for Chris Anthony
Iestyn Thomas Prop Ebbw Vale
Gareth Llewellyn Lock Neath
Robert Sidoli Lock Pontypridd
Steve Williams Lock London Irish
Colin Charvis Back row Swansea Captain
Michael Owen Back row Pontypridd
Richard Parks Back row Pontypridd
Gavin Thomas Back row Bath
Martyn Williams Back row Cardiff
Gareth Cooper Scrum-half Bath Withdrew due to injury
Dwayne Peel Scrum-half Llanelli
Ryan Powell Scrum-half Cardiff Injury replacement for Gareth Cooper
Iestyn Harris Fly-half Cardiff Withdrew due to injury
Neil Jenkins Fly-half Cardiff
Stephen Jones Fly-half Llanelli
Andy Marinos Centre Newport
Jamie Robinson Centre Cardiff
James Storey Centre Neath Injury replacement for Dafydd James
Mark Taylor Centre Swansea
Dafydd James Wing Bridgend Withdrew due to injury
Craig Morgan Wing Cardiff
Tom Shanklin Wing Saracens
Kevin Morgan Full-back Swansea
Rhys Williams Full-back Cardiff

South Africa

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Like Wales, South Africa appointed a new coach for the tour, following the resignation of Harry Viljoen in January 2002; he was replaced by former Bedford and Coastal Sharks coach Rudolf Straeuli.[8] Ahead of naming the squad for the Wales series, the South Africa player pool was hit by an exodus; several players made moves to European clubs, but South African Rugby Union policy prohibited players not based in South Africa from playing for the national team.[9] As well as several who had moved the previous year, prop Robbie Kempson and wing Pieter Rossouw agreed moves to London Irish and Ulster respectively on 2 May 2002,[10] back-row forward Andre Vos joined Harlequins on 13 May,[11] and full-back Thinus Delport joined Gloucester on 15 May.[12] Full-back Percy Montgomery ruled himself out of the national trial game on 19 May after expressing a desire to move to Europe;[13] he signed for Newport on 29 May 2002, joining fellow former Springbok Adrian Garvey.[14]

On 14 May, Straeuli named 46 players for an intra-squad trial match to be played at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria on 19 May; the group included 18 uncapped players, including South Africa Sevens internationals Brent Russell and Egon Seconds, and under-21s Francois Swart, Clyde Rathbone and Jean de Villiers.[15] They were divided into two teams: Team White was captained by Bobby Skinstad and Team Blue was led by Corne Krige.[16] Team Blue led 22–12 at half time, but Team White came back in the second half to win 57–48.[17]

Matches

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Wales vs Barbarians

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The game against Wales was Rod Macqueen's second as Barbarians coach, following their game against England three days earlier, having been appointed for the tour in March 2002.[18] His initial squad for the tour included seven South Africans, among them loosehead prop Robbie Kempson, who had recently ended his international career after agreeing a move to Ulster.[19] South African full-back Percy Montgomery was added on 16 May, having also indicated his intention to move to Europe.[20] Seven players pulled out of the game against Wales, having picked up injuries against England, prompting the short-notice call-ups of the likes of Doddie Weir, Jamie Noon and former Cardiff wing Liam Botham.[21] For Wales, locks Steve Williams and Gareth Llewellyn were recalled after long spells out of the team; Llewellyn had not started for his country since their final pool match of the 1999 Rugby World Cup against Samoa, while Williams' last appearance was as a replacement against New Zealand in November 1997. Dwayne Peel started at scrum-half in place of the retired Rob Howley; his half-back partner was his Llanelli teammate Stephen Jones, following a groin injury to Iestyn Harris, while Neil Jenkins provided outside half cover from the bench. Coach Steve Hansen waited to name his full bench until after the Parker Pen Shield final, resting his decision on the fitness of the Pontypridd forwards involved in that game: Gethin Jenkins, Robert Sidoli, Richard Parks and Michael Owen.[22] Following the injury to Chris Anthony in training for the game,[23] Ben Evans was promoted from the bench to the starting line-up, allowing Jenkins to take his place among the replacements, joined by Sidoli and Parks; Owen was the only one of the Ponty four to miss out.

Wales opened the scoring in the 12th minute thanks to a penalty from Jones, before a chip-and-chase from Peel led to the first try of the game for Mark Taylor five minutes later. Jones missed the conversion, but added another penalty to extend the lead to 11–0 as the game moved into the second quarter. In the last 10 minutes of the half, Wales added another two tries; first, Craig Morgan finished an attacking move out wide, before Gavin Thomas managed to finish under the posts following good work by fellow back-rowers Martyn Williams and Colin Charvis. Jones converted both tries to give Wales a 25–0 lead at half-time. At the interval, brought Jenkins and Parks on in place of Iestyn Thomas and Martyn Williams, and within a minute of the restart he was forced into another change as Jamie Robinson came on for the injured Andy Marinos. Soon after, the Barbarians scored their first try thanks to Ollie Smith, with the conversion added by Braam van Straaten. Five minutes later, Thinus Delport ran in another score and Van Straaten again added the extras. As the game entered its final 20 minutes, the Barbarians took the lead with two quickfire tries; Delport scored his second in the 62nd minute, before Newport's South African prop Adrian Garvey crossed in the 65th, and Van Straaten converted both to give the Barbarians a 28–25 lead. Van Straaten kept up his 100% kicking record after Garvey scored a second try as the game drew to a close, only to miss the conversion as captain Pat Lam completed the scoring in injury time.[24][25]

29 May 2002
19:15
Wales  25–40Barbarians
Try: Taylor
C. Morgan
G. Thomas
Con: Jones (2)
Pen: Jones (2)
ReportTry: Smith
Delport (2)
Garvey (2)
Lam
Con: Van Straaten (5)
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 21,500
Referee: Rob Dickson (Scotland)
FB 15 Kevin Morgan
RW 14 Rhys Williams
OC 13 Mark Taylor
IC 12 Andy Marinos
LW 11 Craig Morgan
FH 10 Stephen Jones
SH 9 Dwayne Peel
N8 8 Colin Charvis (c)
OF 7 Martyn Williams
BF 6 Gavin Thomas
RL 5 Gareth Llewellyn
LL 4 Steve Williams
TP 3 Ben Evans
HK 2 Robin McBryde
LP 1 Iestyn Thomas
Replacements:
HK 16 Mefin Davies
PR 17 Gethin Jenkins
LK 18 Robert Sidoli
FL 19 Richard Parks
SH 20 Ryan Powell
FH 21 Neil Jenkins
CE 22 Jamie Robinson
Coach:
  Steve Hansen
 
FB 15   Percy Montgomery
RW 14   Thinus Delport
OC 13   Ollie Smith
IC 12   Pita Alatini
LW 11   Jamie Noon
FH 10   Braam van Straaten
SH 9   Mark Robinson
N8 8   Jim Williams
OF 7   Josh Kronfeld
BF 6   Pat Lam (c)
RL 5   Kieran Roche
LL 4   Doddie Weir
TP 3   Mauricio Reggiardo
HK 2   Raphaël Ibañez
LP 1   Craig Dowd
Replacements:
HK 16   Mario Ledesma
PR 17   Adrian Garvey
LK 18   Ryan Strudwick
FL 19   Kris Chesney
SH 20   Ofisa Tonu'u
CE 21   Pieter Muller
WG 22   Liam Botham
Coach:
  Rod Macqueen

Touch judges:
John Hogg (Scotland)
Gregg Davies (Scotland)
Fourth official:
Colin Saunders (Wales)

First test

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In the first test, Wales led after the first 20 minutes, but tries from Marius Joubert and Bobby Skinstad gave the first advantage (15-11) for the victorious Springboks.[26]

FB 15 Ricardo Loubscher
RW 14 Stefan Terblanche
OC 13 Marius Joubert
IC 12 André Snyman
LW 11 Breyton Paulse
FH 10 André Pretorius
SH 9 Bolla Conradie
N8 8 Bobby Skinstad (c)
OF 7 AJ Venter
BF 6 Warren Britz
RL 5 Victor Matfield
LL 4 Jannes Labuschagne
TP 3 Willie Meyer
HK 2 James Dalton
LP 1 Daan Human
Replacements:
HK 16 Ollie le Roux  
PR 17 Faan Rautenbach  
LK 18 Quinton Davids
FL 19 Joe van Niekerk  
SH 20 Craig Davidson
CE 21 Adrian Jacobs  
WG 22 Brent Russell  
Coach:
Rudolf Straeuli
 
FB 15 Kevin Morgan
RW 14 Rhys Williams
OC 13 Mark Taylor
IC 12 Andy Marinos
LW 11 Craig Morgan
FH 10 Stephen Jones
SH 9 Dwayne Peel
N8 8 Colin Charvis (c)
OF 7 Martyn Williams
BF 6 Michael Owen
RL 5 Steve Williams
LL 4 Gareth Llewellyn
TP 3 Ben Evans
HK 2 Robin McBryde
LP 1 Iestyn Thomas
Replacements:
HK 16 Mefin Davies  
PR 17 Martyn Madden  
LK 18 Robert Sidoli  
FL 19 Richard Parks  
SH 20 Ryan Powell  
FH 21 Neil Jenkins  
CE 22 Tom Shanklin  
Coach:
  Steve Hansen

Second test

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Wales again lost, but played a "fiercely contested" match according to BBC Sport.[27] The tour showed the improvement that the coach Steve Hansen was waiting for.[28]

15 June 2002
15:00
South Africa  19–8  Wales
Try: Russell
Davidson
Pen: Pretorius (3)
ReportTry: Charvis
Pen: Jones
Newlands, Cape Town
Attendance: 42,500
Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)
FB 15 Brent Russell
RW 14 Stefan Terblanche
OC 13 Marius Joubert
IC 12 De Wet Barry
LW 11 Breyton Paulse
FH 10 André Pretorius
SH 9 Bolla Conradie
N8 8 Bobby Skinstad (c)
OF 7 AJ Venter
BF 6 Corné Krige
RL 5 Jannes Labuschagne
LL 4 Quinton Davids
TP 3 Willie Meyer  
HK 2 James Dalton
LP 1 Daan Human
Replacements:
HK 16 Ollie le Roux  
PR 17 Faan Rautenbach  
LK 18 Hottie Louw  
FL 19 Joe van Niekerk  
SH 20 Craig Davidson  
CE 21 Adrian Jacobs
FB 22 Werner Greeff
Coach:
Rudolf Straeuli
 
FB 15 Kevin Morgan
RW 14 Rhys Williams
OC 13 Mark Taylor
IC 12 Andy Marinos
LW 11 Craig Morgan
FH 10 Stephen Jones
SH 9 Dwayne Peel
N8 8 Colin Charvis (c)
OF 7 Martyn Williams
BF 6 Michael Owen
RL 5 Steve Williams
LL 4 Gareth Llewellyn
TP 3 Ben Evans
HK 2 Robin McBryde
LP 1 Iestyn Thomas
Replacements:
HK 16 Mefin Davies  
PR 17 Martyn Madden  
LK 18 Robert Sidoli  
FL 19 Gavin Thomas  
SH 20 Ryan Powell  
FH 21 Neil Jenkins  
CE 22 Tom Shanklin  
Coach:
  Steve Hansen

References

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  1. ^ "Henry walks away from Wales". BBC Sport. 6 February 2002. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Hansen given permanent position". ESPNscrum. 5 April 2002. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Jenkins to join SA tour". BBC Sport. 9 May 2002. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Hansen wary of task ahead in South Africa". ESPNscrum. 9 May 2002. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  5. ^ "South Africa Tour 2002". wru.wales. 14 May 2002. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Harris ruled out of Wales tour". ESPNscrum. 18 May 2002. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Madden called up for SA". BBC Sport. 30 May 2002. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Straeuli new Springboks coach". BBC Sport. 1 March 2002. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Joubert backs SA policy shift". BBC Sport. 2 May 2002. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Springbok pair quit SA". BBC Sport. 2 May 2002. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Vos joins Quins". BBC Sport. 13 May 2002. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  12. ^ "Delport makes Kingsholm move". BBC Sport. 15 May 2002. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Monty seeks European future". BBC Sport. 13 May 2002. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Montgomery signs for Newport". BBC Sport. 29 May 2002. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Straeuli names Springbok hopefuls". BBC Sport. 14 May 2002. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Springbok trial teams announced". BBC Sport. 18 May 2002. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  17. ^ Nell, Stephen (20 May 2002). "WP reject Russell the star of SA trials". IOL. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Macqueen new Baa-baas coach". BBC Sport. 25 March 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Baa-Baas call-up for Kempson". BBC Sport. 6 May 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Montgomery gets Baa-Baas call-up". BBC Sport. 16 May 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Baa-Baas hit by withdrawals". BBC Sport. 27 May 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  22. ^ "Williams earns Wales call". BBC Sport. 23 May 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  23. ^ "Madden called up for SA". BBC Sport. 30 May 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  24. ^ "Barbarians bounce back". BBC Sport. 29 May 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  25. ^ "Clockwatch: Wales 25-40 Barbarians". BBC Sport. 29 May 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  26. ^ "Brave Wales downed by Boks". BBC Sport. 8 June 2002. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  27. ^ "Wales go down fighting". BBC Sport. 15 June 2002. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  28. ^ "Hansen happy with Wales progress". BBC Sport. 15 June 2002. Retrieved 7 December 2016.