2004 Wales Rugby Union Tour Of Argentina And South Africa

In June 2004, the Wales national rugby union team toured Argentina and South Africa. They played two test matches against the Argentina national team in Buenos Aires, losing 50–44 in the first on 12 June before winning the second 35–20 on 19 June, before playing the South Africa national team on 26 June 2004, losing 53–18 in Pretoria on 26 June. Before leaving for the tour, they also played an uncapped match against the Barbarians at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, winning 42–0. The tour saw call-ups for three uncapped players for Wales – Barry Davies, Peter Sidoli and Jason Forster – but only Forster played in any of the three games, scoring Wales' second try in the first test against Argentina.

Squads

Wales

Wales coach Mike Ruddock, leading the nation for the first time following the departure of Steve Hansen at the end of the 2004 Six Nations Championship, named a 33-man squad for the tour. Hooker Barry Williams retired from international rugby at the start of May 2004, and several players were unavailable due to injury, including lock Robert Sidoli, scrum-half Gareth Cooper, hooker Robin McBryde and fly-half Stephen Jones, which meant a less experienced squad was named for the tour, and there were call-ups for the uncapped lock Peter Sidoli, flanker Jason Forster and full-back Barry Davies. Prop Darren Morris was also recalled to the squad almost three years after his last cap for Wales. Following the withdrawal of Craig Morgan from the squad with leg injuries, Tal Selley was called up in his place. Prop Iestyn Thomas also pulled out with a shoulder injury and was replaced by Rhys Thomas. After suffering an ankle injury in the pre-tour match against the Barbarians, Gareth Thomas had hoped to join up with the squad in time for the second test against Argentina; however, he did not recover in time for that match.

Argentina

Argentina named a 26-man squad on 17 May 2004 for the two-test series against Wales and a one-off test against New Zealand. It was Argentina's first international action since they were eliminated in the group stage of the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Agustín Pichot, Ignacio Corleto, Juan Martín Hernández, Rimas Álvarez Kairelis and Mario Ledesma all withdrew to take part in the 2003–04 Top 16 play-offs with their respective clubs.

South Africa

South Africa were playing two home tests against Ireland and one against Wales. Like Argentina, these were South Africa's first internationals since the 2003 Rugby World Cup. They were also the team's first matches under new head coach Jake White, who replaced Rudolf Straeuli after the World Cup. The South Africa management had been criticised for only selecting one non-white player, Ashwin Willemse, for the World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand. On 16 May 2004, they named six black players in their 22-man squad to begin the summer; in addition to Willemse, they also called up Eddie Andrews, Bolla Conradie, Quinton Davids, Wayne Julies and Hanyani Shimange. Full-back Percy Montgomery was also named despite breaking his hand while playing for the Newport Gwent Dragons two days before the squad was announced.

Results

Wales vs Barbarians

Wales' first match of the summer saw them warm up for their southern hemisphere tour with their fourth meeting with the Barbarians in as many years, played at Ashton Gate in Bristol on 26 May. Fly-half Ceri Sweeney scored all of Wales' points in the first half, converting his own try and adding two penalties to give them a 13–0 lead. Gareth Thomas, Rhys Williams, Dwayne Peel, Gavin Henson and Hal Luscombe all scored tries in the second half, with Sweeney adding two further conversions, while the defence stood firm to keep a clean sheet; it was the first time the Barbarians had failed to score in a match since 1978. Thomas suffered an ankle injury during the game that meant he had to be substituted after an hour, putting him in doubt for the tour.

Argentina vs Wales (1st test)

Wales coach Mike Ruddock made just one change to the team that started the match against the Barbarians, as Hal Luscombe came in on the right wing for Rhys Williams, who was filling in for the injured Gareth Thomas at full-back. Meanwhile, Jason Forster retained his position in the back row to earn his first full cap at the age of 33, while 35-year-old lock Gareth Llewellyn surpassed Neil Jenkins as Wales' most-capped player with 88 international appearances. Argentina's selection was affected by the release of five players back to their French clubs in order to appear in the Top 16 championship play-offs, including captain Agustín Pichot. Number 8 Gonzalo Longo replaced Pichot as captain, while uncapped forwards Pablo Cardinali and Martín Schusterman were named on the bench.

Longo scored the only try of the first half, combining with Felipe Contepomi's four penalties to give Argentina a 19–9 lead at the break. The hosts opened up an unassailable lead early in the second half, however, thanks to a trio of unanswered tries: two from Lucas Borges and another from Contepomi. Dwayne Peel scored a breakaway try for Wales, but Martín Gaitán restored Argentina's lead. Forster pulled Wales back with a debut try shortly after, only for Manuel Contepomi to again push Argentina seemingly out of reach. But with just over 10 minutes to play, Colin Charvis sparked a flurry of Welsh scores, with Sonny Parker and Luscombe following suit to reduce the deficit to six points. On the last play of the game, Shane Williams made a line break and played an inside pass to Parker, only for the centre to knock on, confirming an Argentine victory.

Argentina vs Wales (2nd test)

Wales brought in four new faces for the second test: Huw Bennett and Dafydd Jones in the forwards, and Nicky Robinson and Tom Shanklin in the backs. Bennett and Shanklin came in for Mefin Davies and Rhys Williams, who had been ill in the week; both were thought to have recovered in time to be named as substitutes, but Williams was ultimately left out in favour of Barry Davies. Ceri Sweeney, whom Robinson replaced, was also named on the bench, but Jason Forster was left out altogether despite a try-scoring debut the previous week. There were two positional changes in the starting XV as Colin Charvis moved from blindside to openside and Gavin Henson moved from inside centre to full-back. Argentina made two changes to their starting line-up, as centre José Orengo replaced Martín Gaitán, who had suffered a groin injury, and Nicolás Fernández Miranda returned from domestic duty with his club, Petrarca.

Shane Williams scored a first-half hat-trick of tries, two of which were converted by Henson. He also scored two penalties to give Wales a 25–0 lead at half-time, aided by Carlos Ignacio Fernández Lobbe's yellow card for coming in at the side of a ruck. After the break, Charvis was sin-binned for the second week in a row for killing the ball, resulting in Hernán Senillosa kicking Argentina's first points of the game. This was soon followed by their opening try, scored by Federico Martín Aramburú and converted by Senillosa. Omar Hasan reduced the deficit to 10 points with another try following a turnover from a Wales line-out in Argentina territory, but another Henson penalty and a try from Nicky Robinson put Wales 20 points up again. Shane Williams was yellow-carded late on for killing the ball, and Lucas Borges completed the scoring with a try awarded after video review.

South Africa vs Wales

Ahead of the South Africa test, Ruddock sought advice from the Ireland coaching staff who had just played two tests against the Springboks. Wales' team selection was affected by injuries to Hal Luscombe, Sonny Parker (both thumb), Dwayne Peel (ankle) and Michael Owen (back); Luscombe's thumb was put in a splint, and both he and Parker were deemed fit to start the game, while Peel received "intensive treatment" on his ankle and also started. Owen was initially named in the starting XV, but withdrew the day before the game with back spasms and was replaced by Alix Popham. The only other changes to the squad from the second test against Argentina were also in the forwards; Gethin Jenkins replaced Duncan Jones at loosehead prop, Mefin Davies returned in place of Huw Bennett after an illness, and lock Deiniol Jones came in to win his third cap after Brent Cockbain left the touring party for family reasons. Meanwhile, South Africa made two changes to the team from their second test victory over Ireland; prop Faan Rautenbach recovered from injury to replace Eddie Andrews, while Brent Russell replaced the injured Jaque Fourie.

Shane Williams almost scored the opening try for Wales early in the game, but it was ruled out for offside; however, referee Steve Walsh was playing advantage after an earlier South Africa infringement, allowing Gavin Henson to kick the first three points. South Africa responded with a try from captain John Smit, converted by Percy Montgomery, who added a penalty of his own before the midway point in the half. Henson and Montgomery then exchanged penalties, but another South Africa try from Russell extended their lead after Henson had missed touch with a clearing kick. Peel also failed to clear as the first half drew to a close, and Breyton Paulse returned the ball for an eventual seven points, giving the hosts a 27–6 lead at the break. Ten minutes after the interval, Popham was knocked out in a tackle with opposite number Jacques Cronjé and had to be replaced; Wales had already brought on their specialist back row replacement, Jonathan Thomas, in the first half, so hooker Huw Bennett had to fill in as an emergency number 8. After that, South Africa added two more tries through Wayne Julies and Russell's second, though Montgomery failed to convert Julies' score. Peel scored Wales' first try soon after the hour mark, converted by Henson, but South Africa's replacement scrum-half, Bolla Conradie, restored the Springbok lead with help from another Montgomery conversion. Schalk Burger scored South Africa's seventh try to take them past the 50-point mark and a 40-point lead, though Shane Williams scored a late consolation for Wales; the conversion was missed and the match finished with a final score of 53–18, continuing Wales' winless run in South Africa.

Peel put the defeat down to South Africa's ability to win and keep the ball, but he also praised the team's persistence even when trailing by 40 points. Captain Colin Charvis said that the game was lost in the forwards, where the Welsh front five were outplayed and the loose forwards struggled to keep up with their Springbok counterparts. After being taken to hospital, Alix Popham was diagnosed with a concussion but no broken bones; fly-half Ceri Sweeney was praised for his quick action in preventing Popham from swallowing his tongue while unconscious. Popham later flew home with the rest of the squad. After the tour, coach Mike Ruddock said the touring squad should be given a 10-week pre-season, including a month off after the final game.

References

*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wales
2004 rugby union tours
tour
2004
2004 in Argentine rugby union
2004 in South African rugby union
2004
2004
History of rugby union matches between Argentina and Wales
History of rugby union matches between South Africa and Wales