2003 Wales rugby union tour of Australia and New Zealand

The Wales national rugby union team toured Australia and New Zealand in June 2003, playing test matches against the Australia and New Zealand national teams as part of their preparations for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Wales lost both test matches, first going down 30–10 to Australia in Sydney, before a 55–3 defeat to New Zealand in Hamilton.

2003 Wales rugby union tour of Australia and New Zealand
Coach(es)Steve Hansen
Summary
P W D L
Total
02 00 00 02
Test match
02 00 00 02
Opponent
P W D L
 Australia
1 0 0 1
 New Zealand
1 0 0 1

Squad

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Wales coach Steve Hansen named an initial squad of 30 for their tour to Australia and New Zealand, as well as a pre-tour match against the Barbarians. Bath's 20-year-old back-rower Gareth Delve was a surprise selection in the original squad,[1] but he suffered a shoulder injury against the Barbarians and was replaced in the final squad by uncapped Swansea back-rower Jonathan Thomas. The other uncapped players in the final squad were Neath prop Adam Jones, Llanelli scrum-half Mike Phillips, Swansea hooker Huw Bennett and Leeds back-rower Alix Popham. Four captains were named for the tour: flankers Colin Charvis and Martyn Williams, hooker Robin McBryde and fly-half Stephen Jones.[2]

Name Position Club Notes
Huw Bennett Hooker Swansea
Mefin Davies Hooker Pontypridd
Robin McBryde Hooker Llanelli Captain
Ben Evans Prop Cardiff
Gethin Jenkins Prop Pontypridd
Adam Jones Prop Neath
Iestyn Thomas Prop Llanelli
Robert Sidoli Lock Pontypridd
Gareth Llewellyn Lock Neath
Vernon Cooper Lock Llanelli
Chris Wyatt Lock Llanelli
Martyn Williams Back row Cardiff Captain
Colin Charvis Back row Swansea Captain
Dafydd Jones Back row Llanelli
Jonathan Thomas Back row Swansea
Alix Popham Back row Leeds
Gareth Cooper Scrum-half Bath
Dwayne Peel Scrum-half Llanelli
Mike Phillips Scrum-half Llanelli
Gavin Henson Fly-half Swansea
Stephen Jones Fly-half Llanelli Captain
Ceri Sweeney Fly-half Pontypridd
Sonny Parker Centre Pontypridd
Jamie Robinson Centre Cardiff
Tom Shanklin Centre Saracens
Mark Taylor Centre Swansea
Matthew Watkins Centre Llanelli
Mark Jones Wing Llanelli
Garan Evans Full-back Llanelli
Rhys Williams Full-back Cardiff

Matches

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Wales vs Barbarians

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Wales prepared for their tour to Australia and New Zealand with an uncapped match against the Barbarians at the Millennium Stadium on 31 May 2003. It served as a farewell match for fly-half Neil Jenkins, who was retiring from international rugby as the all-time top point scorer in test history.[3] The Barbarians scored eight tries during the match, taking a 48–28 lead into the closing stages; Jenkins, who had come on in the 66th minute, set up Tom Shanklin for his hat-trick try, before slotting the final points of the game himself.[4]

FB 15 Garan Evans
RW 14 Mark Jones
OC 13 Mark Taylor
IC 12 Iestyn Harris
LW 11 Rhys Williams
FH 10 Stephen Jones
SH 9 Dwayne Peel
N8 8 Alix Popham
OF 7 Martyn Williams (c)
BF 6 Colin Charvis
RL 5 Gareth Llewellyn
LL 4 Vernon Cooper
TP 3 Adam Jones
HK 2 Robin McBryde
LP 1 Iestyn Thomas
Replacements:
HK 16 Mefin Davies
PR 17 Ben Evans
N8 18 Gareth Delve
FL 19 Chris Wyatt
SH 20 Mike Phillips
FH 21 Neil Jenkins
WG 22 Tom Shanklin
Coach:
  Steve Hansen
 
FB 15   Percy Montgomery
RW 14   Aisea Tuilevu
OC 13   Cristian Stoica
IC 12   Daryl Gibson
LW 11   Bruce Reihana
FH 10   Felipe Contepomi
SH 9   Mark Robinson
N8 8   AJ Venter
OF 7   Olivier Magne
BF 6   Sam Harding
RL 5   Mark Connors (c)
LL 4   Ryan Strudwick
TP 3   Franck Tournaire
HK 2   Matt Sexton
LP 1   Ollie le Roux
Replacements:
HK 16   Raphaël Ibañez
PR 17   Adrian Garvey
LK 18   Mick Galwey
FL 19   Santiago Phelan
SH 20   Darren Edwards
FB 21   Matt Perry
CE 22   Scott Staniforth
Coach:
  Alan Solomons

Australia vs Wales

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14 June 2003
Australia  30–10  Wales
Try: Sailor (2)
Latham
Paul
Grey
Con: Roff
Pen: Flatley
ReportTry: Robinson
Con: S. Jones
Pen: S. Jones
Stadium Australia, Sydney
Attendance: 63,688
Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
FB 15 Chris Latham
RW 14 Wendell Sailor
OC 13 Morgan Turinui
IC 12 Steve Kefu
LW 11 Joe Roff
FH 10 Elton Flatley
SH 9 George Gregan (c)
N8 8 Toutai Kefu
OF 7 Phil Waugh
BF 6 David Giffin
RL 5 David Lyons
LL 4 Nathan Sharpe
TP 3 Patricio Noriega
HK 2 Jeremy Paul
LP 1 Bill Young
Replacements:
HK 16 Brendan Cannon
PR 17 Ben Darwin
LK 18 Dan Vickerman
FL 19 Daniel Heenan
SH 20 Chris Whitaker
CE 21 Nathan Grey
WG 22 Lote Tuqiri
Coach:
Graham Henry
 
FB 15 Rhys Williams
RW 14 Mark Jones
OC 13 Jamie Robinson
IC 12 Mark Taylor
LW 11 Tom Shanklin
FH 10 Stephen Jones
SH 9 Gareth Cooper
N8 8 Colin Charvis
OF 7 Martyn Williams (c)
BF 6 Jonathan Thomas
RL 5 Robert Sidoli
LL 4 Gareth Llewellyn
TP 3 Gethin Jenkins
HK 2 Robin McBryde
LP 1 Iestyn Thomas
Replacements:
HK 16 Mefin Davies  
PR 17 Ben Evans
LK 18 Chris Wyatt
N8 19 Alix Popham  
SH 20 Dwayne Peel
FH 21 Ceri Sweeney
CE 22 Gavin Henson
Coach:
  Steve Hansen

New Zealand vs Wales

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FB 15 Mils Muliaina
RW 14 Doug Howlett
OC 13 Tana Umaga
IC 12 Dan Carter
LW 11 Joe Rokocoko
FH 10 Carlos Spencer
SH 9 Steve Devine
N8 8 Jerry Collins
OF 7 Marty Holah
BF 6 Reuben Thorne (c)
RL 5 Ali Williams   47'
LL 4 Chris Jack
TP 3 Kees Meeuws
HK 2 Keven Mealamu
LP 1 Carl Hoeft
Replacements:
HK 16 Anton Oliver
PR 17 Dave Hewett
LK 18 Brad Thorn   47'
FL 19 Richie McCaw
SH 20 Byron Kelleher
CE 21 Aaron Mauger
WG 22 Caleb Ralph
Coach:
Graham Henry
 
FB 15 Rhys Williams
RW 14 Mark Jones
OC 13 Jamie Robinson   68'
IC 12 Mark Taylor
LW 11 Tom Shanklin   76'
FH 10 Stephen Jones
SH 9 Gareth Cooper   76'
N8 8 Colin Charvis   23'
OF 7 Martyn Williams (c)   28'   40'
BF 6 Dafydd Jones
RL 5 Gareth Llewellyn   51'
LL 4 Robert Sidoli
TP 3 Gethin Jenkins
HK 2 Robin McBryde   51'
LP 1 Iestyn Thomas
Replacements:
HK 16 Mefin Davies   51'
PR 17 Ben Evans
LK 18 Chris Wyatt   28'   40'   51'
FL 19 Jonathan Thomas   23'
SH 20 Dwayne Peel   76'
FH 21 Ceri Sweeney   68'
CE 22 Gavin Henson   76'
Coach:
  Steve Hansen

References

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  1. ^ "Delight for young Delve". BBC Sport. 7 May 2003. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Hansen names four captains". BBC Sport. 6 June 2003. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Jenkins quits international stage". BBC Sport. 11 May 2003. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Baa-Baas spoil Jenkins' day". BBC Sport. 31 May 2003. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
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