Wales & England double up on World Cup preparations
NEWS: Wales will face two former World Cup champions next year, as part of preparations for the 2023 tournament in France.
Wales will play England (twice) and South Africa.
Both England and the Springboks pay a visit to Cardiff in August, as all the major powers in the world game begin their preparations for the showpiece tournament in earnest.
Wales’ near-neighbours kick off the warm-up campaign for Wayne Pivac’s Wales with a visit to Cardiff on Saturday, August 5.
Pivac then takes his side on the road to Twickenham for the return fixture on Saturday, August 12 – before heading home again to host the Boks on Saturday, August 19.
The matches come at the sharp end of preparations for World Cup 2023, following tough training camps that taking place in June and July.
England, apart from the back-to-back matches against Wales, will also take on Fiji on Saturday, August 26 – their last match before they travel to France for the World Cup.
They will play a further away fixture, the weekend before, with opposition to be announced in the coming months.
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“With less than a year to go until World Cup 2023 we have a clear programme set out for the squad in readiness for the tournament,” Wales coach Wayne Pivac said.
“I’m pleased we are able to confirm warm-up matches against England – home and away – and at home against South Africa as part of this.
“These three matches are a key element of our final World Cup preparations and we look forward to seeing as many fans as possible at them before the squad departs for France.”
Jones said: “These matches will be crucial as we enter our final preparation stage for the World Cup.
“It’s our chance to develop our tactical approach, improve our game fitness and to say thank you to the supporters for the last four years.
“We’re very fortunate to have such a tough opponent in Wales and to play them both home and away, along with the atmosphere we always experience in Cardiff. It will be great preparation for the squad.
“We also know Fiji are a rapidly improving team under Vern Cotter, they have some excellent individuals and are a similar proposition to Samoa who we will face in the World Cup.
“These are the matches where the World Cup is almost in touching distance and the feeling that the support of a full Twickenham Stadium will give the squad real momentum going into the tournament in France.”
