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into doubt when he was sent off in the Scarlets' win over Munster in the Pro12 semi-finals; however, the red card was rescinded and he was cleared to play.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.

Name Position Club Notes Hooker Ospreys Hooker Cardiff Blues Called up to British & Irish Lions squad Hooker Scarlets Prop Scarlets Withdrew due to hand injury Prop Exeter Chiefs Called up to British & Irish Lions squad Prop Ospreys Injury replacement for Samson Lee Prop Scarlets Prop Scarlets Withdrew due to knee injury Prop Ospreys Prop Ospreys Injury replacement for Rob Evans Lock Scarlets Withdrew due to shoulder injury Lock Ospreys Lock Cardiff Blues Lock Newport Gwent Dragons Called up to British & Irish Lions squad Lock Ospreys Back row Newport Gwent Dragons Back row Cardiff Blues Back row Ospreys Withdrew due to injury Back row Cardiff Blues Back row Scarlets Injury replacement for James King Back row Wasps Scrum-half Scarlets Scrum-half Scarlets Called up to British & Irish Lions squad Scrum-half Cardiff Blues Fly-half Cardiff Blues Fly-half Ospreys Fly-half Scarlets Injury replacement for Phil Dollman Fly-half Leicester Tigers Centre Newport Gwent Dragons Centre Harlequins Captain Centre Scarlets Wing Cardiff Blues Wing Cardiff Blues Wing Scarlets Wing Ospreys Full-back Exeter Chiefs Injury replacement for Rhun Williams; withdrew due to knee injury Full-back Cardiff Blues Withdrew due to ankle injury

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.

Team details FB 15Afon Bagshaw RW 14Carwyn ap MyrddinOC 13Tom Hughes IC 12Tiaan LootsLW 11Rhys WilliamsFH 10Jacob Botica SH 9 Efan Jones N8 8 Huw Worthington OF 7 Mei ParryBF 6 Tim GreyRL 5 Andrew Williams (c) LL 4 Sean LonsdaleTP 3 Sam Wainwright HK 2 Evan Yardley LP 1 Joe Simpson Replacements: 16Rhys Williams 17Curtis Reynolds 18Ross Davies 19Robin Williams 20Will Bryan 21Cam Davies 22Billy McBryde 23Dion Jones 24Jordan Scott 25George Roberts 26Josh Leach 27Bryn Edwards 28Ianto Pari 29Harri Evans 30Sam Jones 31Richard Hopkins 32Tom SeddonCoach: Mark Jones FB 32Gareth Anscombe RW 29Keelan Giles OC 27Tyler MorganIC 24Jamie Roberts (c) LW 25Cory AllenFH 22Sam Davies SH 21Aled Davies N8 16Ollie Griffiths OF 17Ellis Jenkins BF 14Seb Davies RL 11Cory Hill LL 10Adam BeardTP 4 Tomas Francis HK 6 Kristian Dacey LP 1 Nicky Smith Replacements:PR 2 Dillon Lewis PR 3 Wyn Jones PR 5 Rhodri JonesPR 33Gareth Thomas HK 7 Scott Baldwin HK 8 Ryan Elias HK 9 Scott OttenLK 12Rory Thornton FL 13Josh Navidi FL 15Aaron Shingler FL 18Thomas Young SH 19Gareth DaviesSH 20Tomos Williams FH 23Owen Williams CE 26Scott WilliamsWG 28Alex Cuthbert WG 30Steff Evans FB 31Rhys Patchell Coach: Robin McBryde

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.

FB 15David HalaifonuaRW 14Nafi Tuitavake OC 13Siale Piutau (c)IC 12Viliami Tahituʻa LW 11Cooper VunaFH 10Latiume FositaSH 9 Sonatane Takulua N8 8 Valentino MapapalangiOF 7 Nili Latu BF 6 Daniel FaleafaRL 5 Steve MafiLL 4 Leva FifitaTP 3 Ben Tameifuna HK 2 Paul NgauamoLP 1 Latu Talakai Replacements:HK 16Suliasi TaufalelePR 17Sila Puafisi PR 18Phil Kite FL 19Sione TauFL 20Michael Faleafa SH 21Leon Fukofuka FH 22Kali Hala WG 23Kiti Taimani Vaini Coach: Toutai Kefu FB 15Gareth AnscombeRW 14Alex Cuthbert OC 13Scott Williams IC 12Jamie Roberts (c)LW 11Steff EvansFH 10Sam DaviesSH 9 Gareth DaviesN8 8 Josh Navidi OF 7 Thomas Young BF 6 Aaron ShinglerRL 5 Cory HillLL 4 Seb DaviesTP 3 Tomas Francis HK 2 Kristian Dacey LP 1 Nicky Smith Replacements:HK 16Ryan Elias PR 17Wyn Jones PR 18Dillon Lewis FL 19Ellis Jenkins FL 20Ollie Griffiths SH 21Aled Davies FH 22Owen Williams CE 23Cory Allen Coach: Robin McBryde Touch judges: Mike Fraser (New Zealand) Cam Stone (New Zealand) Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

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.

FB 15D'Angelo LeuilaRW 14Alapati LeiuaOC 13Kieron FonotiaIC 12Rey Lee-LoLW 11David Lemi (c) FH 10Tusi PisiSH 9 Kahn Fotuali'iN8 8 Alafoti Fa'osiliva OF 7 Galu Taufale BF 6 Piula FaʻasaleleRL 5 Fa'atiga LemaluLL 4 Chris VuiTP 3 Paul Alo-Emile HK 2 Manu Leiataua LP 1 Viliamu Afatia Replacements:HK 16Seilala Lam PR 17Nephi Leatigaga PR 18Bronson Tauakipulu FL 19Faifili Levave N8 20Sanele Vavae Tuilagi SH 21Dwayne PolataivaoCE 22Henry TaefuFH 23Tila Mealoi Coach: Alama Ieremia FB 15Gareth AnscombeRW 14Cory AllenOC 13Tyler Morgan IC 12Jamie Roberts (c)LW 11Steff EvansFH 10Sam DaviesSH 9 Aled DaviesN8 8 Josh NavidiOF 7 Ellis JenkinsBF 6 Aaron Shingler RL 5 Rory ThorntonLL 4 Seb Davies TP 3 Dillon Lewis HK 2 Ryan Elias LP 1 Nicky Smith Replacements:HK 16Scott Baldwin PR 17Wyn Jones PR 18Rhodri Jones LK 19Adam Beard FL 20Thomas Young SH 21Tomos WilliamsFH 22Owen WilliamsCE 23Scott Williams Coach: Robin McBryde Touch judges: Mike Fraser (New Zealand) Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)

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