1998 Wales rugby union tour of Africa

The 1998 Wales rugby union tour of Africa was a series of matches played in June 1998 in Zimbabwe and South Africa by Wales national rugby union team.

1998 Wales rugby union tour of Africa
Summary	P W D L
Total	06 01 00 05
Test match	02 01 00 01
Opponent	P W D L
Zimbabwe	1 1 0 0
South Africa	1 0 0 1

Wales won their initial match against Zimbabwe in Harare, before moving on to the second leg of the tour in South Africa. Here they would play four tour matches against representative and provincial opposition and a test match against South Africa. Wales lost all four of the tour matches, and then were defeated by South Africa in the test match. The final scoreline of 96-13 was the biggest defeat Wales had ever had,[1] and remains so as of 2020.

Wales' head coach Kevin Bowring had resigned at the end of the 1998 Five Nations Championship, and with a replacement yet to be appointed, Dennis John was made caretaker coach ahead of the tour.[2] Prior to the tour, 18 players from Wales made themselves unavailable to participate, while a further 8 picked up injuries during the tour.[3]

Results

Scores and results list Wales's points tally first.

Opposing Team	For	Against	Date	Venue	Status	Ref
Zimbabwe	49	11	6 June 1998	Harare	Test Match	[4]
Emerging Springboks	13	35	12 June 1998	Secunda	Tour match
Vodacom Border Bulldogs	8	24	16 June 1998	East London	Tour match
Natal Sharks	23	30	19 June 1998	Durban	Tour match	[5]
Falcons	37	39	23 June 1998	Vanderbijlpark	Tour match	[6]
South Africa	13	96	27 June 1998	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria	Test Match	[7]

References

1. Godwin, Hugh (27 June 1998). "Rugby Union: Blackest day for the Welsh". The Independent. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
2. Howell, Andy (20 June 2014). "The inside story of South Africa 96 -13 Wales...through the eyes of those who were there". Wales Online. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
3. Orders, Mark (1 April 2020). "The day fuming Colin Charvis turned on his own Wales team-mates". Wales Online. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
4. Godwin, Hugh (6 June 1998). "Rugby Union: Hayward launches Wales' tour". The Independent. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
5. "Rugby Union: Joubert has final word as Natal ease past Wales". The Independent. 19 June 1998. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
6. "Rugby Union: Thomas sent off as Wales succumb". The Independent. 23 June 1998. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
7. Osterhuis, Mark (28 June 1998). "Rugby Union: Boks brand Wales as worst in history". The Independent. Retrieved 19 December 2020.

Cleary, Mick, ed. (1999). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1999-00. Headline. ISBN 0-7472-7531-9.