The 1969 Wales rugby union tour was a series of rugby union games undertaken by the Wales national rugby union team to Australia, Fiji and New Zealand. The tour took in four matches against regional and invitational teams and three tests; two to New Zealand and one to Australia. This was the second official Wales tour to the southern hemisphere and the first to Australasia and Melanesia.
The tour results were mixed for Wales; the team was unbeaten in the non-test matches and were victorious over Australia, but were completely out-classed by New Zealand. The captaincy of the tour was given to Newport's Brian Price.
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Rugby union tours of New Zealand | |
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| British & Irish Lions | |
Australia  | |
New South Wales  | |
South Africa  | |
Argentina  | |
England  | |
France  | |
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Scotland  | |
Wales  | |
Romania  |
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Japan  | |
Fiji  | |
Western Samoa  | |
Pacific Islanders  | |
Canada  | |
Rugby union tours of Australia | |
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| British & Irish Lions | |
New Zealand  | |
| New Zealand Māori | |
| South Africa | |
| Argentina | |
| England | |
| France | |
| Ireland | |
| Italy | |
| Scotland | |
| Wales | |
| Fiji | |
| Samoa | |
Tonga  | |
| Pacific Islanders | |
| Canada | |
United States  | |
| Asian teams | |
Barry John was a Welsh rugby union fly-half who played, during the amateur era of the sport, in the 1960s and early 1970s. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC before switching to the first-class west Wales team Llanelli RFC in 1964. Whilst at Llanelli, John was selected for the Wales national team—as a replacement for David Watkins to face a touring Australian team.
The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
Rugby union in Wales is considered a large part of Welsh national culture. Rugby union is thought to have reached Wales in the 1850s, with the national body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) being formed in 1881. Wales are considered to be one of the most successful national sides in Rugby Union, having won the most Six Nations Championships after England, as well as having reached 3 World Cup semi finals in 1987, 2011 and 2019, having finished 3rd in the inaugural competition and having finished 4th in 2011 in a repeat of the first third place play-off. The Welsh team of the 1970s is considered to be arguably the greatest national team of all time, prompting many experts in the game to suggest that had the Rugby World Cup existed during this period, Wales would be amongst the list of World Cup winners. As of November 2021, they are ranked 8th in the world.
Neath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Indigo Premiership for Season 2023/24. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The team is known as the All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem. Neath RFC is the oldest rugby club in Wales, having been formed in 1871. They are feeder club to the Ospreys regional team.
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after which relocating to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since.
In 1980 the British Lions rugby union team toured South Africa. The tour was not a success for the Lions, as they lost the first three tests before salvaging some pride with a win in the fourth. The team did however win all their 14 non-international matches. The Lions were captained by Bill Beaumont.
In 1971 the British Lions toured New Zealand, also playing two matches in Australia. Despite losing the first match to Queensland the tour was a great success, the Lions winning the Test series against the All Blacks. They are still the only Lions side to have won a Test series in New Zealand. The side was captained by John Dawes, coached by Carwyn James and managed by Doug Smith.
Rhys Thomas "Rusty" Gabe born as Rees Thomas Gape, was a Welsh rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli, London Welsh and Cardiff and gained 24 caps for Wales, mainly as a centre.
The Invincibles was a nickname given to the 1924–25 New Zealand national team which toured the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Canada. The team was captained by Cliff Porter, and numbered among its top players George Nēpia and brothers Cyril and Maurice Brownlie. During the test against England Cyril Brownlie was sent off by the Welsh referee Albert Freethy, the first player to be sent off from a test.
Thomas Patrick David is a Welsh former dual-code international rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played representative rugby union (RU) for Wales and the British Lions and rugby league (RL) for Wales. He was selected for the 1974 British Lions tour to South Africa, and at the time played club rugby for Llanelli RFC. He also played for his home-town club Pontypridd RFC, and while at the club was part of the 1976 Grand Slam winning Wales team. In 1981 he switched codes to rugby league, representing Cardiff City Blue Dragons.
In 1977 the British Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand. The Lions played 26 matches, including four internationals against the All Blacks. They lost the series against the All Blacks by three matches to one. The team played as the British Isles in their internationals against the All Blacks and the British Lions for the non-international games. Unlike all previous tours to New Zealand, the Lions did not play any matches in Australia, though one game was also played at Buckhurst Park, Suva, against Fiji.
The 1914 Five Nations Championship was the fifth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirty-second series of the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Nine matches were played between 1 January and 13 April. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
In 1966 the British Lions toured Australia and New Zealand. The Lions won the two test matches against Australia but lost all four internationals against the All Blacks.
In 1955 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. The Lions drew the test series against South Africa, each team winning two of the four matches. They won the first test by a single point and the third by three points and lost the second and fourth matches by wider margins. As well as South Africa, the tour included a match against South West Africa, two games against Rhodesia and one versus East Africa.
In 1951-52 the South Africa national rugby union team toured England, France, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, playing a series of test matches, as well as games against club, regional, and representative teams. South Africa accomplished their third Grand Slam by winning all four tests against the Home Nations sides, and also won the test match against France. This was the sixth South Africa tour and the fourth tour of the Northern Hemisphere. It was also the first time the South Africans played the invitational British Barbarian team.
The 1964 Wales rugby union tour of Africa was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the Wales national rugby union team to Africa. The tour took in five matches against African regional and invitational teams with one test against South Africa. This was the first official Wales tour to the southern hemisphere; Wales' first match outside Europe was played against East Africa on Tuesday May 12, 1964.
Thomas Ellis Jones-Davies was a Welsh physician and international rugby union centre.
Glamorgan County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Glamorgan that originally played rugby at county level. The team is made up of amateur players from sports clubs in the Glamorgan region and historically played matches against other county teams from Wales and England, and during the 20th century was a key fixture for touring international teams. Today the club manages Glamorgan's premier rugby union tournament, the Glamorgan County Silver Ball Trophy, and arranges invitational Glamorgan teams to face Welsh rugby clubs during celebrations, such as anniversaries.
The 1978 Wales rugby union tour of Australia was a series of nine matches played by the Wales national rugby union team in Australia in May and June 1978. The Welsh team won five matches and lost four, including losing both of their international matches against the Australia national rugby union team.
