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 tour	Argentina 2018
Next tour	Australia 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

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 30)	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 33)	5	Ospreys
Rhys Carré	Prop	(1998-02-08) 8 February 1998 (age 27)	16	Cardiff
Tomas Francis	Prop	(1992-04-27) 27 April 1992 (age 33)	64	Ospreys
Wyn Jones	Prop	(1992-02-26) 26 February 1992 (age 33)	43	Scarlets
Dillon Lewis	Prop	(1996-01-04) 4 January 1996 (age 29)	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 27)	0	Saracens
Adam Beard	Lock	(1996-01-07) 7 January 1996 (age 29)	34	Ospreys
Ben Carter	Lock	(2001-01-23) 23 January 2001 (age 24)	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 37)	65	Ospreys
Josh Navidi	Back row	(1990-12-30) 30 December 1990 (age 34)	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 26)	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 30)	33	Cardiff
Gareth Anscombe	Fly-half	(1991-05-10) 10 May 1991 (age 34)	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 33)	102	Ospreys
Nick Tompkins	Centre	(1995-02-16) 16 February 1995 (age 30)	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 30)	39	Cardiff
Alex Cuthbert	Wing	(1990-04-05) 5 April 1990 (age 35)	51	Ospreys
Louis Rees-Zammit	Wing	(2001-02-02) 2 February 2001 (age 24)	16	Gloucester
Liam Williams	Fullback	(1991-04-09) 9 April 1991 (age 34)	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.

See also

• 2022 mid-year rugby union tests
• History of rugby union matches between South Africa and Wales