Related Research Articles
The Scarlets are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. The club was originally named the Llanelli Scarlets but was renamed at the start of the 2008–09 rugby season.
Robert Howley is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. As a player, he won 59 caps for Wales, 22 of them as captain. He was part of the Wales coaching staff from 2008 to 2019. He is currently a coaching consultant for the Toronto Arrows in Major League Rugby (MLR).
Scott Quinnell is a Welsh former dual-code rugby union and rugby league player who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He was a number 8 for Wales, Llanelli RFC, Llanelli Scarlets, Richmond and the British & Irish Lions in rugby union. He won 52 caps for Wales and three for the Lions, and scored 11 international tries for Wales and one for the Lions.
Ray "Chico" Hopkins is a Welsh former international rugby player who was also a member of the British Lions.
Dwayne John Peel is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. He was the most capped scrum-half for the Wales national rugby union team with 76 caps, until his record was surpassed by Mike Phillips on 16 March 2013.
Warren David Gatland is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is the head coach of the Wales national team.
Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872.
Raymond William Robert Gravell was a Welsh rugby union centre who played club rugby for Llanelli RFC. At international level, Gravell earned 23 caps for Wales and was selected for the 1980 British Lions tour to South Africa.
William Michael Phillips is a Welsh rugby union player who plays at scrum-half. On 16 March 2013, Phillips surpassed the record of 76 caps set by Dwayne Peel as the most capped scrum-half for Wales.
Mark Anthony Jones is a Welsh professional rugby union coach and former player who played as a wing for the Scarlets and Wales. Since making his international debut for Wales in 2001, he won 47 caps and scored 13 tries. Since going into coaching, Jones has held head-coaching jobs with Rotherham, RGC 1404 and the Namibia national team.
Gareth John James Jenkins is a Welsh former rugby union player and coach. Born in Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, he played for Llanelli RFC for 17 years from his debut in September 1969. He was appointed coach of the club in 1982. In 2003, he was appointed as coach of the newly formed Llanelli Scarlets regional side, guiding them to the Celtic League title in their first season. Following the resignation of Steve Hansen as coach of the Wales national team, Jenkins applied for the position and was one of two finalists only for Mike Ruddock to be appointed without applying. Jenkins finally took over as Wales coach when Ruddock resigned during the 2006 Six Nations, but his tenure was unsuccessful, winning just six of his 20 games in charge. He was sacked on 30 September 2007, the day after Wales failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He returned to the Scarlets as their head of regional development and recruitment in June 2008.
Robert Nicholas Jones is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. He was capped 54 times for Wales during his career, at that time a record. He and Gareth Edwards, Rob Howley, Dwayne Peel and Mike Phillips are the only scrum-halves to have achieved 50 caps or more for Wales.
Kenneth James Owens is a former Welsh rugby union player who played as a hooker for the Scarlets and Wales. He made his debut for the Scarlets in 2006, taking over from Matthew Rees as their first-choice hooker upon Rees' departure for the Cardiff Blues in 2013. He also served as backup to Rees, among others, for Wales following his debut against Namibia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In 2016, he took over as Wales' first-choice hooker, and in January 2023, following almost a year out with a back injury, he was named as captain for the 2023 Six Nations Championship.
Jonathan Davies is a former Welsh professional rugby union player who played at centre for the Scarlets and the Wales national team. He is commonly known as "Fox", differentiating him from the Jonathan Davies who played both rugby union and rugby league during the 1980s and 1990s. His brother is James Davies, who also played professional rugby for Wales as a flanker.
The 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a rugby union tour during June and July 2013. The British & Irish Lions played ten matches - a three-test series against Australia, and matches against the five Australian Super Rugby sides, a Combined New South Wales–Queensland Country team, and a match en route to Australia against the Barbarians.
David Gareth Davies is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for United Rugby Championship club Scarlets and has represented the Wales national team.
In June 2013, Wales toured Japan as part of the 2013 mid-year rugby test series. They faced Japan in a two-test series on 8 and 15 June, playing in the oldest dedicated rugby union stadium in Japan, Kintetsu Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Osaka, and the home stadium of Japanese rugby, Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium in Tokyo. The test series was Wales' first test series against Japan since 2001, when Wales were victorious 2–0, and their first encounter since Wales' 72–18 victory in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Pool B match. Wales were also the first Tier 1 nation to play Japan in Japan since Italy in 2006.
In June 2014, Wales toured South Africa, playing a 2-test series against the Springboks. In addition to the two Test matches, Wales also played a warm-up uncapped match against domestic club side Eastern Province Kings. The three matches coincided with the June International Window, playing in the second and third week of the window.
The 2016 Wales rugby union tour of New Zealand was a rugby union tour of New Zealand by the Wales national team in June 2016. The tour saw the Welsh side play four matches: three test matches against New Zealand and one match against the Chiefs of Super Rugby.
In 2017, the Wales national rugby union team's summer tour saw them play test matches against Tonga on 16 June and Samoa on 23 June. The match against Tonga was played in Auckland, New Zealand, due to concerns over the state of Teufaiva Sport Stadium in Nukuʻalofa. Wales won the match 24–6, before beating Samoa 19–17 in Apia. A veteran of the 2009 and 2013 Lions tours but unselected for their 2017 tour to New Zealand, centre Jamie Roberts captained Wales on this tour, which also saw lock Adam Beard make his international debut; Beard went on to play for the Lions on their 2021 tour to South Africa.
