Wales to face reigning champions South Africa and England twice in summer World Cup warm-ups

Wales will play England twice and reigning world champions South Africa next summer as they prepare for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Wayne Pivac's side will take on England in Cardiff on Saturday, 5 August before facing them again at Twickenham a week later.

Wales will then tackle the Springboks at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, 19 August.

The 2023 Rugby World Cup takes place in France during September and October.

The three summer Tests will be preceded by training camps for the Wales squad during June and July.

"With less than a year to go until Rugby World Cup 2023 we have a clear programme set out for the squad in readiness for the tournament," said head coach Pivac.

"These three matches are a key element of our final Rugby World Cup preparations and we look forward to seeing as many fans as possible at them before the squad departs for France."

Wales lost 16-19 to eventual winners South Africa in the semi-final of Japan's Rugby World Cup 2019.

In July Pivac's side made history becoming the first Wales men's team to win in South Africa with a 13-12 victory in the second Test in Bloemfontein. They lost the series 2-1.

"Wales have always proven to be tough competition for us and our results against them in the last few years are evidence of the quality of the side they are," said Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber.

"The Rugby World Cup is one of the toughest competitions in the world, and you have to be at your best every week to reach the final, so it's vital that we test ourselves against quality opposition in the lead-up to the competition.

"With Wales being in the top 10 in the world and the team holding a good win record against us in Cardiff in the last few seasons, we have no doubt this will be a strong character test and fantastic preparation for us going into the World Cup."

Wales previously played home and away World Cup preparation games against England in 2019, losing 33-19 at Twickenham before a 13-6 victory in Cardiff.

In last season's Six Nations Championship England recorded a narrow 23-19 home win, while Eddie Jones' side will come to the Principality Stadium in this season's tournament on 25 February prior to the two summer warm-ups.

"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," said England coach Jones.

England will also take on Fiji on Saturday, 26 August and a further away fixture the weekend before against yet to be named opposition.

This article originally appeared on BBC Sport

Photo: BBC