2008 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa

The Wales national rugby union team toured South Africa in June 2008, playing two matches against the South Africa national team. South Africa won both tests, winning 43–17 in Bloemfontein on 7 June and 37–21 in Pretoria a week later.

2008 Wales rugby union tour of South Africa
Date7–14 June 2008
Coach(es)Warren Gatland
Tour captain(s)Ryan Jones
Top point scorer(s)Stephen Jones (18)
Top try scorer(s)Shane Williams (2)
Summary
P W D L
Total
02 00 00 02
Opponent
P W D L
 South Africa
2 0 0 2
Tour chronology
Previous tourAustralia 2007
Next tourNorth America 2009

Fixtures

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The venue for the first match was put in doubt due to ongoing work at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The schedule for the tour was confirmed on 27 March 2008; the first match would be played at the Free State Stadium on 7 June 2008 as scheduled, with the second at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria a week later.[1] The winners of the series would win the Prince William Cup, a trophy first awarded at the teams' previous meeting in Cardiff in November 2007.[2][3] The matches were not played using the Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) that had been trialled during the 2008 Super 14 season, which South Africa coach Peter de Villiers said gave Wales an advantage.[4]

Date Venue Home Score Away
7 June 2008 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein South Africa   43–17   Wales
14 June 2008 Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria South Africa   37–21   Wales

Squads

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Wales

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Wales went into the tour as reigning Six Nations champions and unbeaten under new coach Warren Gatland, for whom this was his first tour in charge. After an intensive fitness camp in Ireland that included uncapped scrum-half Warren Fury,[5] Gatland named an initial squad of 27 for the tour.[6] Several members of Wales' Grand Slam-winning team were left out due to injury, including flankers Martyn Williams and Robin Sowden-Taylor (shoulder), full-back Lee Byrne, centre Gavin Henson (ankle), and scrum-halves Mike Phillips (knee) and Dwayne Peel (shoulder),[7][8][9][10][11] while number 8 Alix Popham ruled himself out ahead of a summer move to French club Brive.[12] Fellow back row Colin Charvis was left out after his club, the Newport Gwent Dragons, refused to release him for the training camp in Ireland.[13] Meanwhile, wing Mark Jones recovered from groin surgery in time to be picked.[14] Hooker Huw Bennett (ankle) and uncapped scrum-half Andy Williams (back) later also pulled out injured;[15] Bennett was replaced by Ospreys scrum-half Richard Hibbard, while Williams was not replaced, leaving Fury as the only recognised back-up to Gareth Cooper, although wing Shane Williams said he would fill in at scrum-half if asked, having begun his career playing the position for Amman United.[16] As well as Fury, lock Bradley Davies and centre Andrew Bishop were the other uncapped players included in the squad.[6] Cardiff Blues hooker T. Rhys Thomas was called into the squad after Matthew Rees suffered a calf injury in the first test.[17]

Name Position Club Notes
Huw Bennett Hooker Ospreys Withdrew due to ankle injury
Richard Hibbard Hooker Ospreys Injury replacement for Huw Bennett
Matthew Rees Hooker Llanelli Scarlets
T. Rhys Thomas Hooker Cardiff Blues Injury replacement for Matthew Rees
Gethin Jenkins Prop Cardiff Blues
Adam Jones Prop Ospreys
Duncan Jones Prop Ospreys
Rhys M. Thomas Prop Newport Gwent Dragons
Bradley Davies Lock Cardiff Blues
Ian Evans Lock Ospreys
Ian Gough Lock Ospreys
Alun Wyn Jones Lock Ospreys
Gareth Delve Back row Gloucester
Dafydd Jones Back row Llanelli Scarlets
Ryan Jones Back row Ospreys Captain
Jonathan Thomas Back row Ospreys
Gareth Cooper Scrum-half Gloucester
Warren Fury Scrum-half London Irish
Andy Williams Scrum-half Newport Gwent Dragons Withdrew due to back injury
James Hook Fly-half Ospreys
Stephen Jones Fly-half Llanelli Scarlets
Andrew Bishop Centre Ospreys
Sonny Parker Centre Ospreys
Jamie Roberts Centre Cardiff Blues
Tom Shanklin Centre Cardiff Blues
Tom James Wing Cardiff Blues
Mark Jones Wing Llanelli Scarlets
Shane Williams Wing Ospreys
Morgan Stoddart Full-back Llanelli Scarlets

South Africa

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The two matches against Wales were South Africa's first at home since being crowned world champions in the 2007 Rugby World Cup final against England. In January 2008, they appointed Peter de Villiers as their head coach, replacing Jake White, whose contract expired at the end of 2007.[18] Selecting predominantly from the pool of players based in South Africa, as per a ruling by the South African Rugby Union board,[19] De Villiers named a 30-man squad for the series against Wales and the match against Italy the following week; he picked four uncapped players, including Zimbabwe-born props Tendai Mtawarira and Brian Mujati, but there were several injury absentees from the side that won the World Cup, including centre Jaque Fourie, flanker Schalk Burger (knee) and scrum-half Fourie du Preez (hand).[20][21][22] Wing Bryan Habana and lock Bakkies Botha were included in the squad after the resolution of a legal dispute between Botha and the South African Rugby Union over his planned move to French second division side Toulon.[23]

Name Position Club Notes
Bismarck du Plessis Hooker Natal Sharks/Sharks
John Smit Hooker Natal Sharks/Sharks Captain
BJ Botha Prop Natal Sharks/Sharks
Tendai Mtawarira Prop Natal Sharks/Sharks
Brian Mujati Prop Golden Lions/Lions
Gurthrö Steenkamp Prop Blue Bulls/Bulls
CJ van der Linde Prop Free State Cheetahs/Cheetahs
Andries Bekker Lock Western Province/Stormers
Bakkies Botha Lock Blue Bulls/Bulls
Victor Matfield Lock Blue Bulls/Bulls
Ryan Kankowski Back row Natal Sharks/Sharks
Danie Rossouw Back row Blue Bulls/Bulls
Juan Smith Back row Free State Cheetahs/Cheetahs
Pierre Spies Back row Blue Bulls/Bulls
Joe van Niekerk Back row Western Province/Stormers
Luke Watson Back row Western Province/Stormers
Bolla Conradie Scrum-half Western Province/Stormers
Ricky Januarie Scrum-half Western Province/Stormers
Ruan Pienaar Scrum-half Natal Sharks/Sharks
Peter Grant Fly-half Western Province/Stormers
Butch James Fly-half Bath
Gcobani Bobo Centre Western Province/Stormers
Jean de Villiers Centre Western Province/Stormers
Adrian Jacobs Centre Natal Sharks/Sharks
François Steyn Centre Natal Sharks/Sharks
Tonderai Chavhanga Wing Western Province/Stormers
Bryan Habana Wing Blue Bulls/Bulls
Odwa Ndungane Wing Natal Sharks/Sharks
Conrad Jantjes Full-back Western Province/Stormers
Percy Montgomery Full-back Perpignan

Results

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First test

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7 June 2008
South Africa  43–17  Wales
Try: Jantjes
De Villiers
Spies
Montgomery
Con: James (4)
Pen: James (5)
ReportTry: Roberts
Williams
Con: S. Jones (2)
Pen: S. Jones
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Attendance: 32,685
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
FB 15 Conrad Jantjes
RW 14 Tonderai Chavhanga
OC 13 Adrian Jacobs   32' to 45'   62'
IC 12 Jean de Villiers
LW 11 Bryan Habana
FH 10 Butch James   74'
SH 9 Bolla Conradie   57'
N8 8 Pierre Spies
OF 7 Juan Smith   74'
BF 6 Luke Watson
RL 5 Andries Bekker   46'
LL 4 Bakkies Botha   58' to 64'
TP 3 Brian Mujati   46'
HK 2 John Smit (c)   57'
LP 1 Gurthro Steenkamp   24' to 32'
Replacements:
HK 16 Bismarck du Plessis   57'
PR 17 CJ van der Linde   74'   24'   32'   46'
LK 18 Victor Matfield   46'
FL 19 Danie Rossouw   58'   64'   74'
SH 20 Ruan Pienaar   57'
FH 21 Peter Grant   32'   45'   74'
FB 22 Percy Montgomery   62'
Coach:
Peter de Villiers
 
FB 15 Jamie Roberts   54'
RW 14 Mark Jones
OC 13 Tom Shanklin
IC 12 Sonny Parker
LW 11 Shane Williams
FH 10 Stephen Jones   54'
SH 9 Gareth Cooper   62'
N8 8 Ryan Jones (c)
OF 7 Dafydd Jones   58'
BF 6 Jonathan Thomas
RL 5 Alun Wyn Jones   54'
LL 4 Ian Gough   68'
TP 3 Adam Jones
HK 2 Matthew Rees   54'
LP 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:
HK 16 Richard Hibbard   74'   54'
PR 17 Duncan Jones   54'
LK 18 Ian Evans   68'
N8 19 Gareth Delve   58'
SH 20 Warren Fury   62'
FH 21 James Hook   54'
FB 22 Morgan Stoddart   54'
Coach:
  Warren Gatland

Second test

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14 June 2008
South Africa  37–21  Wales
Try: De Villiers (2)
Januarie
Du Plessis
Con: James (4)
Pen: James (3)
ReportTry: Cooper
Williams
Con: S. Jones
Pen: S. Jones (3)
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
Attendance: 41,250
Referee: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)
FB 15 Conrad Jantjes
RW 14 Tonderai Chavhanga   64'
OC 13 Adrian Jacobs   60'
IC 12 Jean de Villiers
LW 11 Bryan Habana
FH 10 Butch James
SH 9 Ricky Januarie   72'
N8 8 Pierre Spies   60'
OF 7 Juan Smith   60'
BF 6 Luke Watson
RL 5 Victor Matfield
LL 4 Bakkies Botha   64'
TP 3 BJ Botha
HK 2 John Smit (c)
LP 1 Tendai Mtawarira   61'
Replacements:
HK 16 Bismarck du Plessis   60'
PR 17 Gurthro Steenkamp   61'
LK 18 Andries Bekker   64'
N8 19 Ryan Kankowski   60'
SH 20 Bolla Conradie   72'
CE 21 François Steyn   60'
FB 22 Percy Montgomery   64'
Coach:
Peter de Villiers
 
FB 15 James Hook
RW 14 Mark Jones   77'
OC 13 Tom Shanklin   67'
IC 12 Jamie Roberts
LW 11 Shane Williams
FH 10 Stephen Jones
SH 9 Gareth Cooper   75'
N8 8 Gareth Delve   24'
OF 7 Jonathan Thomas
BF 6 Ryan Jones (c)   67'
RL 5 Alun Wyn Jones
LL 4 Ian Gough
TP 3 Rhys M. Thomas   70'
HK 2 Richard Hibbard   72'
LP 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:
HK 16 T. Rhys Thomas   72'
PR 17 Duncan Jones   70'
LK 18 Ian Evans   67'
FL 19 Dafydd Jones   24'
SH 20 Warren Fury   75'
CE 21 Andrew Bishop   67'
WG 22 Tom James   77'
Coach:
  Warren Gatland

References

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  1. ^ "Wales set South Africa tour plans". BBC Sport. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Prince watches Wales lose his cup". BBC Sport. 24 November 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Prince William Cup to go on display". Welsh Rugby Union. 8 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Wales have an edge - De Villiers". BBC Sport. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Gatland names Training Squad". Welsh Rugby Union. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Charvis out of Wales tour squad". BBC Sport. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Sowden-Taylor out of Wales tour". BBC Sport. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Phillips ruled out for six months". BBC Sport. 28 March 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Peel adds to Wales injury worries". BBC Sport. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Henson ruled out of summer tour". BBC Sport. 1 May 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Gatland suffering injury crisis". BBC Sport. 3 May 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Popham pulls out of Wales plans". BBC Sport. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Dragons block Charvis' Wales call". BBC Sport. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Winger Jones on recovery course". BBC Sport. 11 May 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Williams ruled out of Wales tour". BBC Sport. 25 May 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Williams offers scrum-half option". BBC Sport. 27 May 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Wales call Thomas after Rees blow". BBC Sport. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  18. ^ "De Villiers named Springbok coach". BBC Sport. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Boks coach warns overseas players". BBC Sport. 26 April 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  20. ^ "South Africa name four new faces". BBC Sport. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  21. ^ "Burger a doubt for visit of Wales". BBC Sport. 27 April 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  22. ^ "Springboks suffer Du Preez blow". BBC Sport. 17 May 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  23. ^ "Strike threat to Springbok tour". BBC Sport. 28 April 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2024.