Wales to face world champions South Africa at Twickenham in June
- Published
South Africa beat Wales convincingly in a World Cup warm-up game last August
Wales will face world champions South Africa on 22 June at Twickenham before travelling to Australia for a two-Test series.
The Twickenham tie is a double-header with Wales and the Springboks kicking off at 14:00 BST, followed by Barbarians v Fiji at 17:15.
Wales will then travel for matches against Australia in Melbourne and Sydney in July.
The Springboks host Ireland in a two-match series this summer.
The Wales and South Africa match in south-west London is outside World Rugby's international window and takes place on the same day as the United Rugby Championship (URC) final, although the kick-off times will not clash.
Welsh and South African sides compete in the URC tournament.
South African side Stormers have featured in the past two URC finals and are currently sixth with the Bulls third, with the top eight of 16 teams reaching the play-offs that start in early June.
Ospreys are the highest-placed Welsh side in seventh spot, with Cardiff, Scarlets and Dragons further adrift.
Wales say they will be the "away" team for the Twickenham fixture.
Neutral venue
Wales have played South Africa at Twickenham once before when the Springboks narrowly defeated Warren Gatland's side in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final
The Principality Stadium is not available this summer because of concerts, with Taylor Swift playing at the ground on 18 June and the Foo Fighters on 25 June.
Wales were comprehensively beaten 52-16 by South Africa in a World Cup warm-up match in Cardiff in August.
The Twickenham match will be the Springboks' first since they retained the World Cup in October by beating New Zealand in Paris.
"I'm incredibly excited about the fixture list for Wales this summer," said Wales head coach Warren Gatland.
"To have the opportunity for our young squad to test itself against the world champions at a neutral venue is an extremely important experience and something we will relish.
"It should also be a great occasion for the fans and something a little bit different for them."
South Africa defeated New Zealand at Twickenham in a World Cup warm-up match in August.
"We are thrilled to return to Twickenham and we have fond memories of the warm-up Test we played against the All Blacks last year," said South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus.
"The atmosphere and occasion were remarkable, and we are expecting a similar experience in June.
"The fact we're facing Wales, who we have faced there before in an exhilarating World Cup 2015 quarter-finals, will bring back plenty of other memories as well."
The game is a warm-up before Wales' two-Test series in Australia in July, while the Springboks are hosting Ireland on the same weekends.
South Africa have confirmed they will play Ireland on 6 July in Pretoria before another Test in Durban seven days later.
Wales travel to face Australia in Sydney on 6 July and Melbourne on 13 July. They will be Joe Schmidt's first games in charge of the Wallabies since he took over from Eddie Jones, and Australia will want to erase memories of Wales' record 40-6 World Cup victory in Lyon.
"We know the Wallabies will be hurting after the World Cup," said Gatland.
"Australia is a tough place to go and play rugby and we're expecting a fired up side led by new head coach Joe Schmidt."
Wales had also been exploring the possibility of two further matches this summer. One game would potentially have been a fourth international, while they are also looking into the prospect of a match against an Australian domestic side.
MAX BOYCE AT 80: A star-studded look at his incredible career
60 YEARS OF WELSH POP: Celebrating Welsh music, from the swinging sixties to Cool Cymru
