1969 Wales rugby union tour
Encyclopedia
The 1969 Wales rugby union tour was a collection of friendly 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
.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
games undertaken by the Wales national rugby union team
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The tour took in four matches against regional and invitational teams and three tests; two to New Zealand and one to Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
. This was the second official Wales tour to the southern hemisphere and the first to Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
and Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
.
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
Brian Price (rugby player)
Brian Price is a former Wales international rugby union player. He was born in Bargoed and originally played club rugby played for St...
.
Results
| Date | Opponent | Location | Result | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 1 | 27 May | Taranaki | Rugby Park, New Plymouth New Plymouth New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated.... |
Drew | 9-9 |
| Match 2 | 31 May | New Zealand | Lancaster Park, Christchurch Christchurch Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of... |
Lost | 0-19 |
| Match 3 | 4 June | Otago Otago Rugby Football Union The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago Region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial... |
Carisbrook Park Carisbrook Carisbrook was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it has also been used for other sports such as cricket, football, rugby league and motocross. Carisbrook has also hosted a Joe Cocker concert and frequently hosted pre-game... , Dunedin Dunedin Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until... |
Won | 27-9 |
| Match 4 | 7 June | Wellington Wellington Rugby Football Union The Wellington Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand... |
Athletic Park Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian... , Wellington Wellington Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range... |
Won | 14-6 |
| Match 5 | 14 June | New Zealand | Eden Park Eden Park Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable... , Auckland Auckland The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world... |
Lost | 12-33 |
| Match 6 | 21 June | Australia Australia national rugby union team The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the... |
Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian... , Sydney Sydney Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people... |
Won | 19-16 |
| Match 7 | Fiji Fiji national rugby union team The Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga. Fiji are ranked sixteenth in the world by the IRB as of 26... |
Suva Suva Suva features a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. The city sees a copious amount of precipitation during the course of the year. Suva averages 3,000 mm of precipitation annually with its driest month, July averaging 125 mm of rain per year. In fact,... |
Won | 33-11 | |
Full Backs
- J.P.R. Williams (London Welsh)
Three-Quarters
- Gerald DaviesGerald DaviesThomas Gerald Reames Davies CBE is one of the acknowledged greats of Welsh rugby, playing for the side between 1966 and 1978.-Biography:...
(CardiffCardiff RFCCardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
) - Maurice RichardsMaurice RichardsMaurice Charles Rees Richards is a former dual code rugby international for Wales. A winger, he was part of the 1968 British Lions tour to South Africa...
(CardiffCardiff RFCCardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
) - Keith JarrettKeith Jarrett (rugby)Keith Jarrett was a Welsh international rugby centre who played union for Newport and league with Barrow. Jarrett is most notable for his early appearances for the Wales national rugby union team where he set point scoring records...
(Newport) - John DawesJohn DawesSydney John Dawes OBE is a former Welsh rugby union player, playing at centre, and later coach. He captained London Welsh, Wales, the Barbarians and the British Lions...
(London Welsh) - Alan Skirving (Newport)
- Stuart WatkinsStuart WatkinsStuart Watkins was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Newport and Cardiff.Watkins began his rugby career at Cross Keys before switching to Newport in 1963, staying with the club for the majority of his career...
(Newport)
Half backs
- Phil BennettPhil BennettPhillip Bennett was a Welsh international rugby union fly half from 1969 to 1978. His flair and range of tricks, including his famous sidestep and swerve, meant he was a firm favourite with crowds.-Rugby career:...
(LlanelliLlanelli RFCLlanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...
) - Gareth EdwardsGareth EdwardsGareth Owen Edwards CBE is a former Welsh rugby union footballer who played scrum-half and has been described by the BBC as "arguably the greatest player ever to don a Welsh jersey"....
(CardiffCardiff RFCCardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
) - Ray HopkinsRay HopkinsRay "Chico" Hopkins is a Welsh international rugby player who was also a member of the British Lions.Outside rugby he was a National Coal Board fitter at their workshop in Maesteg.-Club career:...
(MaestegMaesteg RFCMaesteg Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the town of Maesteg, South Wales. The club presently play in the Welsh Rugby Union Division One West and is a feeder club for the Ospreys.-Club history:...
) - Barry JohnBarry JohnBarry John is a former 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 first-class west Wales team Llanelli RFC in 1964...
(CardiffCardiff RFCCardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
)
Forwards
- Mervyn DaviesMervyn DaviesThomas Mervyn "Merv the Swerve" Davies , is a former Welsh rugby union player who won 38 caps for Wales as a No. 8.Davies was born in Swansea, where he attended Penlan County School....
(London Welsh) - Norman GaleNorman Gale (rugby player)Norman Gale was a Welsh rugby union player. A hooker, he captained the Wales national rugby union team on two occasions in 1967-68. Gale played his club rugby for Llanelli RFC and Swansea RFC, but it was with the Scarlets of Llanelli that he is most associated...
(LlanelliLlanelli RFCLlanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...
) - Dennis HughesDennis Hughes (rugby player)Dennis Hughes is a former Welsh rugby union international player. Hughes was born at Argoed, Caerphilly. He played as a flanker for Newbridge RFC, and won six caps for Wales during the period 1967-1970. He later worked as a sales manager for Biomet at Bridgend.-References:...
(NewbridgeNewbridge RFCNewbridge RFC are a Welsh rugby union club based in Newbridge, Caerphilly in South Wales. Newbridge RFC was formed in 1888 and gained admission to the WRU in 1911...
) - Barry Llewellyn (Newport)
- David LloydJohn Lloyd (rugby coach)David John Lloyd is a former Welsh international rugby union player who captained the Wales team in 1972. He played club rugby for Bridgend, county rugby for Glamorgan and invitational rugby for the Barbarians...
(Bridgend) - Dai MorrisDai MorrisWilliam David "Dai" Morris was a Welsh rugby union footballer, who won 34 caps for Wales in the years between 1967 and 1974, scoring six tries...
(NeathNeath RFCNeath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...
) - Brian PriceBrian Price (rugby player)Brian Price is a former Wales international rugby union player. He was born in Bargoed and originally played club rugby played for St...
(Newport) (captain) - John TaylorJohn Taylor (rugby player)John Taylor is a Welsh former rugby union player and current commentator. Nicknamed "Basil Brush" thanks to his wild hair and beard, he played as a flanker for London Welsh , and represented Wales 26 times between 1967 and 1973.-Rugby career:Perhaps his most famous moment was in the Five Nations...
(London Welsh) - Brian Thomas (NeathNeath RFCNeath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...
) - Delme ThomasDelme ThomasWilliam Delme Thomas is a former rugby union player who became one of Wales' best known rugby players in the 1960s and 70s. He joined Llanelli RFC in 1961 and was the team's captain when they won the league in the 1972-73 season and was also the captain when Llanelli famously beat a touring All...
(NeathNeath RFCNeath Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. The club's home ground is The Gnoll, Neath. The first team is known as the Welsh All Blacks because of the team colours: black with only a white cross pattée as an emblem...
) - Denzil WilliamsDenzil WilliamsDenzil Williams is a former Wales international rugby union player. He was capped 36 times for Wales between 1963 and 1971, including Wales' first overseas tour in 1964. He played in the Welsh rugby team's first match outside of Europe and its first in the Southern Hemisphere; played against East...
(Ebbw ValeEbbw Vale RFCEbbw Vale Rugby Football Club is a Welsh Rugby Union Club based in the town of Ebbw Vale, Blaenau Gwent, South Wales. The club currently play in the WRU Division One East and the SWALEC Cup. It also acts as a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons....
) - Jeff YoungJeff Young (rugby player)Jeffrey "Jeff" Young was a Welsh rugby union player who gained 23 caps for Wales as a hooker between 1968 and 1973....
(Harrogate)