Wales' men lose first SA Test 5-3 as women's side win 1-0
- Published
Wales' most-capped male player Lewis Prosser is one of the captains for the Games in Birmingham
International hockey series: Wales v South Africa, men and women |
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Venue: Sophia Gardens Cardiff Dates: 16, 17 and 19 July |
Coverage: Live on the BBC Sport website and app on Saturday, 16 July - men 13:00 BST, women 15:30 BST |
South Africa beat Wales men 5-3 in the opening game of the international series in Cardiff in their first warm up ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
South Africa men scored three unanswered goals through Connor Beauchamp, Nicholas Spooner and Nqobile Ntuli before Gareth Furlong's brace gave the hosts hope.
Keenan Horne added the visitors' fourth with Benjamin Francis hitting back.
But Ntuli's second eased South African worries late on.
That was the first of five matches being played at Cardiff's National Hockey Centre.
Phoebe Richards scored the only goal in the first quarter
Wales' women secured a 1-0 win over their counterparts from South Africa later in the day.
Phoebe Richards finished off a fine individual move to scored the only goal of the game after seven minutes.
Wales put up a good defensive display as they held on to their lead and earn victory in what was Sarah Jones' 100th cap.
Wales' men and women went into the series ranked 15th and 24th respectively, while South Africa's men and women were 16th and 17th in the world.
Wales' women begin their Commonwealth campaign against Canada on 29 July, while the men face Canada the day after. Both teams have also been grouped with England, Ghana and India.
The matches on 16 July are being streamed live on the BBC Sport Wales website and BBC iPlayer, and the women's match on Tuesday will be streamed live on S4C with bilingual commentary.