The Wales A team were the second national rugby union team behind the Welsh national side. They have not played a game since April 2002. On 20 February 2003, the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

were given permission to withdraw from the "A" team

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

, citing costs as the primary reason. In September 2007 it was reported that the union turned down an offer to enter a "Wales A" side into the

2008 Churchill Cup The 2008 Churchill Cup took place between 7 June and 21 June 2008 in what was the sixth year of the Churchill Cup. Six rugby union teams took part: , England Saxons, Ireland A, Scotland A, the , and an Argentinian XV. Participation The entry of ...

competition. In August 2011, an agreement was reached between the Welsh Rugby Union and the

Welsh Rugby Players Association '' The Welsh Rugby Players Association (WRPA), is a trade union representing athletes who currently play or who have played rugby union in Wales at a professional level. Founded in 2003, the WRPA aims to Represent, Develop, Promote and Protect al ...

which expressed a desire to bring back the side with match funding being assured. In August 2014 it was announced that the Wales A team would return to playing from January 2015 onwards. Prior to their current period of inactivity, their last coach was

Mike Ruddock Mike Ruddock, OBE (born 5 September 1959) is a Welsh rugby union coach who is currently an interim consultant for Ospreys, having previously coached Lansdowne FC . Ruddock was the Director of Rugby at the Worcester Warriors until his resignatio ...

for the 2002 Six Nations "A" tournament, and included notable Wales internationals such as

Tom Shanklin Tomos George Llewellyn Shanklin (born 24 November 1979 in Harrow, London) is a former Welsh rugby union player who played outside centre for Cardiff Blues and Wales. He played club rugby for London Welsh and then Saracens, before joining Ca ...

and

Shane Williams Shane Mark Williams, (born 26 February 1977) is a Welsh rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record t ...

. The side also has a history of playing matches against touring Southern Hemisphere sides, the last being a 34–15 defeat to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 2000.BBC SPORT , WALES , Boks nous overcomes Wales
/ref>

References

{{Rugby Wales links A Second national rugby union teams