Wales to stage trial match ahead of Springboks tour

The Welsh Rugby Union on Thursday revealed they will stage their first full trial match in 14 years ahead of next month's two-Test South Africa tour. Rob Howley will coach the Probables, with his fellow Wales assistant Robin McBryde in charge of the Possibles for a game that will take place at Swansea's Liberty Stadium on May 30. Howley's coaching team will include Shaun Edwards and current Scarlets forwards specialist Danny Wilson, with McBryde being joined by Neil Jenkins and Dale McIntosh. Both groups will prepare separately. Wales head coach Warren Gatland will then announce a 31-man South Africa tour squad during his post-match press conference immediately following the trial. The Probables and Possibles squads, meanwhile, will be unveiled next Tuesday, with Wales facing South Africa in Durban on June 14, and then Nelspruit seven days later. "It's great that we are able to resurrect the famous Wales trial," Gatland said. "It's a good opportunity for the players, but it's also important for us in our short-term as well as long-term preparation. "The trial will enable us to work with the extended squad and see those players in our environment as preparations ramp up for next year's World Cup. "It's a chance for players to experience the set-up and round off a week's training with us in a meaningful match and hopefully put their hand up for this summer's tour. "The tour itself is going to be extremely tough, and the game will be important in ensuring we don't head into it cold. "The Springboks are immersed in Super Rugby right up to the tour, and then have a game against a World XV the week before the first Test, so they certainly won't be undercooked." Source: AFP