2017 Wales rugby union tour of Tonga and Samoa

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.

Squad
With head coach Warren Gatland leading the British & Irish Lions on their tour to New Zealand, assisted by Wales attack coach Rob Howley, forwards coach Robin McBryde was named as coach for the tour to Tonga and Samoa, just as he had been in previous Lions years in 2009 and 2013. In December 2016, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) were reported to have approached Ospreys and Cardiff Blues head coaches Steve Tandy and Danny Wilson, and Scarlets backs coach Stephen Jones about supplementing McBryde's coaching staff. Wilson and Jones were appointed, along with Blues attack coach Matt Sherratt, but Wilson and Jones withdrew before the tour due to club commitments.

The Lions squad included 12 senior Wales players, resulting in 12 uncapped players being named in the 32-man squad for the tour, which was captained by centre Jamie Roberts. Ospreys lock Bradley Davies missed the tour due to the impending birth of his second child, while 38-cap veteran hooker Richard Hibbard was also omitted, and prop Gethin Jenkins missed the tour after undergoing knee surgery. Wing Steff Evans' place on the tour was put into doubt when he was sent off in the Scarlets' win over Munster in the Pro12 semi-finals; however, the red card was rescinded and he was cleared to play. Full-back Rhun Williams suffered an ankle injury in the Cardiff Blues' European Champions Cup qualifying match against Stade Français; he was subsequently replaced in the squad by Exeter Chiefs full-back Phil Dollman, only for Dollman to injure his knee in Exeter's win over Wasps in the English Premiership final on 27 May. The Scarlets' Rhys Patchell was called up to the training squad while Dollman's injury was assessed, before Dollman eventually pulled out on 5 June. Forward James King was injured in the Ospreys' loss to Munster in the Pro12 play-off semi-finals and replaced in the squad by Scarlets flanker Aaron Shingler. Shingler's teammates, props Samson Lee (knee) and Rob Evans (hand), and lock Jake Ball (shoulder), also pulled out due to injury; Ball missed the Pro12 final against Munster due to his injury, while Lee and Evans were injured during the match. Evans was replaced in the squad by Ospreys prop Gareth Thomas, while fellow Osprey Rhodri Jones joined the training squad as Lee's injury was assessed, before finally replacing Lee on 5 June. Four of the Wales squad – Tomas Francis, Kristian Dacey, Cory Hill and Gareth Davies – were called up to play for the Lions midway through the tour.

Matches
Wales scheduled a two-test tour for summer 2017, in which they would play against Tonga and Samoa. The second match was scheduled for the Samoan capital, Apia, but the facilities in Tonga led World Rugby to name Auckland, New Zealand, as a contingency venue. Renovations of the Teufaiva Sport Stadium in Nukuʻalofa were expected to be completed in June 2017, but not in time for the Wales game. An assessment of the facilities in Tonga took place in December 2016, but with the pitch not yet in place, the WRU met with World Rugby to further discuss the contingency of moving the fixture to New Zealand. In February 2017, the uncertainty over the readiness of the new stadium meant it was confirmed that the game would not be played in Tonga, and in May 2017, the game was officially moved to Auckland, to be played on 16 June, a day earlier than originally scheduled.

RGC 1404 v Wales
As part of a six-day training camp in North Wales ahead of the tour, Wales played an uncapped friendly against 2016–17 WRU National Cup winners RGC 1404 at Eirias Stadium in Colwyn Bay. Five uncapped players were named in the starting XV: Adam Beard, Seb Davies, Ollie Griffiths, Aled Davies and Keelan Giles. Wales scored 14 tries, including hat-tricks from Cory Allen and Tyler Morgan, braces from Ellis Jenkins, Alex Cuthbert and Thomas Young, and one each from Jamie Roberts and Gareth Anscombe, to claim an 88–19 win.

Tonga v Wales
Wales' first match on tour was against Tonga, played at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, due to the facilities in Nukuʻalofa not being ready in time for the match. Coach Robin McBryde named three uncapped players in his starting XV – lock Seb Davies, flanker Thomas Young and wing Steff Evans – while a further six were named on the bench. Fly-half Sam Davies opened the scoring with a penalty, before Alex Cuthbert scored the first try of the game midway through the first half, though Davies missed the conversion. Sonatane Takulua responded with a penalty for Tonga, but despite Davies hitting the post with two more kicks, Wales took an 8–3 lead into half-time. Another Takulua penalty three minutes into the second half cut the Tonga deficit to two points, but three more penalties from Sam Davies pushed Wales out to a 17–6 lead before a last-minute penalty try gave them a 24–6 win.

Samoa v Wales
Wales' second and final match on tour saw them face Samoa in Apia. The home side had lost 78–0 to New Zealand the previous week, in the second match of a double-header at Eden Park, following Wales' win over Tonga. With Tomas Francis, Kristian Dacey, Cory Hill and Gareth Davies called up to the British & Irish Lions' squad, and Alex Cuthbert injured in the win over Tonga, coach Robin McBryde was forced into making seven changes from that side. Dillon Lewis, Ryan Elias, Rory Thornton and Aled Davies replaced the Lions call-ups, while Cory Allen replaced Cuthbert; Tyler Morgan came in for centre Scott Williams, while Ellis Jenkins took over from openside flanker Thomas Young in the two unforced changes. Meanwhile, Samoa made six changes from the team that lost to New Zealand.

Ten of the Wales team fell ill before the match, and they went behind early thanks to a try from Alapati Leiua, converted by Tusi Pisi, who also kicked a penalty; in response, Sam Davies kicked three penalties for Wales to ensure they went into half-time only a point down. Steff Evans' try just after the break put Wales into the lead for the first time in the match, but Manu Leiataua's try meant the lead lasted just 10 minutes; however, Evans scored another try – his second in as many international appearances – eight minutes from the end to give Wales a 19–17 win, their first in Samoa for 31 years.

References

2017 rugby union tours
Wales national rugby union team tours
Wales national rugby union team tours of Samoa
Wales national rugby union team tours of Tonga