Warren Gatland has opted for experienced flyhalf Stephen Jones over James Hook to spearhead Wales’ assault on world champions South Africa in their opening Test in Bloemfontein on Saturday. Jones made his Test debut in Wales’ record 96-13 defeat to the Springboks in 1998 and is embarking on his third tour of South Africa.
Wales players are set to be exposed to a week of training at a cryotherapy centre ahead of the Six Nations Grand Slam winners’ two Test tour of South Africa in June, coach Warren Gatland announced on Tuesday. Cryotherapy is a process in which the body is briefly subjected to extremely low temperatures below -110°C.
All hail the Six Nations, the tournament that never ceases to surprise and fascinate. Having scraped one victory last season and gone home from the World Cup early, Wales looked to be continuing their downward spiral when they trailed England 19-6 with 20 minutes remaining of their opening match on February 2.
Wales produced a gutsy display of tenacious defence to beat France 29-12 in Cardiff on Saturday to claim their second Six Nations grand slam in four years. The Welsh completed their remarkable transformation from a side that crashed out of last year’s World Cup in the group stages.
A lone try from winger Shane Williams handed Wales a 16-12 win over Ireland and the Triple Crown after a tight Six Nations clash at Croke Park on Saturday. Unbeaten Wales, with four wins from four in the tournament, can clinch their second Grand Slam in four years if they beat France in Cardiff next Saturday.
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/ 10 February 2008
Shane Williams scored two tries as Wales beat Scotland 30-15 at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday to make it back-to-back Six Nations wins under new coach Warren Gatland. But they found it hard to finally see off a Scotland side that stayed in the game until the final quarter thanks to the boot of the recalled Chris Paterson.
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/ 3 February 2008
Wales skipper Ryan Jones hailed his team’s stunning 26-19 Six Nations win over England in London on Saturday as the greatest day of his career. Wales were 16-6 down at the break and were still trailing by 10 points with 20 minutes left before they ran in two tries to record their first victory at Twickenham in 20 years.
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/ 4 December 2007
Rugby Sevens, the abbreviated form of rugby union, is seeking to ride the wave of popularity in the sport generated by the highly successful World Cup in France. The three-day season-opening Dubai leg of the World Series Sevens circuit attracted 32 000 spectators a day, but importantly offered a showcase for many future international stars.
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/ 24 November 2007
Jake White’s final Test as South Africa coach ended with a win as the world champions beat Wales 34-12 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday. JP Pietersen was in superb form, the wing scoring one of South Africa’s five tries and setting up two for centre Jaque Fourie.
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/ 29 September 2007
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Fiji created the biggest shock of the World Cup so far with a sensational 38-34 win over Wales on Saturday to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 1987. The Pacific islanders produced a wonderful opening period to lead 25-10 at the break and put themselves on course for the runners-up spot in Pool B.
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/ 20 September 2007
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Wales rediscovered their attacking spirit to rout Japan 72-18 in their World Cup Pool B match at the Millennium Stadium on Thursday. They had the bonus point in the bag by halftime after four tries in the first 40 minutes and kept up the tempo after the break to score 11 in total.
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/ 15 September 2007
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Two-time champions Australia beat Wales 32-20 in a bruising World Cup clash at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday to virtually make sure of avoiding South Africa in the last eight. The Wallabies, who had two players sin-binned late in the game, scored four tries but were pushed all the way by a spirited home side who had been on the ropes at 25-3 down at the break.
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/ 9 September 2007
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Wales had to call on the experience of captain Gareth Thomas and Stephen Jones coming off the bench on Sunday to repel Canada and record a 42-17 victory in the second Pool B match at La Beaujoire on Sunday. Canada were 17-9 ahead close to the hour after three unanswered tries before Wales at last showed some true attacking flair.