| 2009 Wales rugby union tour of North America | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 30 May – 6 June 2009 | ||||
| Coach | Robin McBryde (caretaker) | ||||
| Tour captain | Ryan Jones | ||||
| Summary |
| ||||
| Total |
| ||||
| Test match |
| ||||
| Opponent |
| ||||
 Canada |
| ||||
 United States |
| ||||
| Tour chronology | |||||
In 2009, theWales national rugby union team toured North America to play tests againstCanada and theUnited States. They won both matches, beating Canada 32–23 in Toronto on 30 May, before a 48–15 win over the United States in Chicago on 6 June. Wales travelled with an inexperienced touring party due to several senior players being included in theBritish & Irish Lions' squad for theirtour to South Africa. Five players earned their first Wales caps on the tour, including future captainSam Warburton and centreJonathan Davies.
With head coachWarren Gatland and attack coachRob Howley on the2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa, forwards coachRobin McBryde was named as coach forWales' tour of North America.[1] CaptainRyan Jones was a surprise omission from the Lions squad,[2] so he was able to continue as captain for Wales' tour. He was named to lead a 32-man squad that included 11 uncapped players, given opportunities by the selection of 13 Wales players in the Lions squad.[3] AfterJames Hook was called up to the Lions tour,Sonny Parker was added to the Wales touring party. PropEifion Lewis-Roberts dropped out of the tour due to a knee ligament injury and was replaced byPaul James, while full-backDan Evans was called up to replaceGareth Owen, who suffered an Achilles injury. The squad was finally reduced to 26 with the dropping of Scarlets flankerRob McCusker and Blues wingRichard Mustoe, in addition to the unavailability of Dragons playersLuke Charteris,Lewis Evans,Dan Lydiate andJason Tovey due to their involvement in a Heineken Cup play-off.[4] Charteris rejoined the squad for the second match against the United States afterBradley Davies suffered an injury.[5]
Canada head coachKieran Crowley named a 31-man squad for their games against Wales andIreland, and for theChurchill Cup. The squad included uncapped forwardsChauncey O'Toole andAndrew Tiedemann, while centreDave Spicer and formerWales under-21 lockLuke Tait were among those returning from injury.[6]
Following the appointment of former head coachScott Johnson as director of coaching at theOspreys,[7] the United States signedEddie O'Sullivan to a two-year contract through the2011 Rugby World Cup. O'Sullivan had served as Ireland's head coach from 2002 to 2008, and was also the United States' forwards coach from 1997 to 1999.[8] O'Sullivan named a 28-man squad for the visits of Ireland and Wales; he was unable to call on 13 players due to injury and unavailability, including captainTodd Clever and experienced centrePaul Emerick, but the squad still contained five players who featured in the2007 Rugby World Cup and only four uncapped players.[9] The original squad contained only one hooker and one scrum-half, but hookersBrian McClenahan andJoe Welch, and scrum-halfTim Usasz were added before the series.[10]
McBryde named an inexperienced team for Wales' opening match against Canada; aside from scrum-halfGareth Cooper, the backs had just 10 caps between them, with debuts for Scarlets centre Jonathan Davies and full-back Dan Evans. Three more uncapped players were named on the bench in propCraig Mitchell, flankerSam Warburton and centreJonathan Spratt.[11] Early penalties fromJames Pritchard gave Canada a 6–0 lead inside the opening quarter of an hour, but a try fromChris Czekaj, making his first Wales appearance for almost two years, was converted byDan Biggar to put Wales in front at the midway point of the half. After Canada lock Luke Tait was sent to the sin bin for killing the ball, Biggar then kicked three penalties before the end of the half, sandwiching another from Pritchard, to give Wales a 16–9 lead at the break. Cooper was injured in an unsuccessful try-scoring attempt just before half-time and replaced byDwayne Peel for the second half. A try fromSean Duke, converted by Pritchard, levelled the scores early in the second half, only forTom James to put Wales back in front with another converted try, before Biggar stretched Wales' lead with another two penalties shortly afterwards. A try byEd Fairhurst, converted by Pritchard, narrowed the deficit to 29–23 just before the hour mark, but a penalty from Biggar put Wales nine points ahead with eight minutes to play. In the final quarter, Wales brought on Mitchell and Spratt for their first appearances, but Warburton was made to wait.[12]
| 30 May 2009 14:45EDT |
| Canada | 23–32 |  Wales |
| Try:Duke 42' c Fairhurst 58' c Con:Pritchard (2) 43', 59' Pen:Pritchard (3) 9', 14', 30' | Report | Try:Czekaj 16' c James 48' c Con:Biggar (2) 17', 49' Pen:Biggar (6) 21', 27', 33', 53', 56', 72' |
| York Stadium, Toronto Attendance: 8,450 Referee:Matt Goddard (Australia) |
|  |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The match against the United States was Wales' 600th test match. Despite scoring a try in the previous match, Wales wing Chris Czekaj was dropped to make room forMark Jones, who had missed the Canada game due to injury. McBryde also replaced both half-backs, with Peel andNicky Robinson coming in for Cooper and Biggar; in the forwards, hookerGareth Williams replacedRichard Hibbard, whileIan Gough started in the second row in place of Bradley Davies, who had chipped a bone in his neck; Dragons lock Luke Charteris came onto the bench after joining the tour late, leaving Scarlets flankerJosh Turnbull and Ospreys centre Sonny Parker as the only touring players not to make an appearance in either match.[13][14] For the United States, coach Eddie O'Sullivan dropped former Scarlets and Dragons fly-halfMike Hercus, and replaced him withAta Malifa.[15]
Nicky Robinson opened the scoring for Wales with a pair of penalties either side of the 10 minute mark, his first points for Wales in almost three years, but United States wingGavin DeBartolo responded with one of his own a couple of minutes later. Those were to be the United States' only points of the first half, though, and Wales opened up a 27–3 half-time lead. Captain Ryan Jones went off midway through the half, having failed to recover from a head injury suffered in the opening seconds of the match, replaced by debutant Sam Warburton, but tries from Scarlets Mark Jones and Jonathan Davies (his first in international rugby) put Wales 20–3 up with 22 minutes gone. Another Wales back-rowerRobin Sowden-Taylor had to be substituted before half an hour had been played, forcing Hibbard into filling in in an unfamiliar position. United States flankerLouis Stanfill was sent to the sin bin for pulling down a maul shortly afterwards, and Wales took advantage of their numerical superiority, forcing the Americans into conceding a penalty try. The United States reduced the deficit to 17 points with the first score of the second half, a try fromAlipate Tuilevuka that was converted by DeBartolo, but Tom James restored Wales' lead with a try just past the midway point of the half. James suffered an injury with just over 10 minutes left to play; Cooper came on in his place and scored almost immediately before Davies scored his second try of the game, makingJJ Gagiano's late try mere consolation.[16] James and Ryan Jones were sent for scans on their injuries on their return from the tour.[17]
| 6 June 2009 13:00CDT |
| United States | 15–48 | Wales |
| Try:Tuilevuka 53' c Gagiano 80+1' m Con:DeBartolo 54' Pen:DeBartolo 13' | Report | Try:M. Jones 15' c J. Davies (2) 21' c, 78' c Penalty try 35' c James 62' c Cooper 70' c Con:Robinson (3) 15', 36', 64' James 22' Biggar (2) 71', 79' Pen:Robinson (2) 9', 11' |
| Toyota Park,Bridgeview, Illinois Referee:Matt Goddard (Australia) |
|  |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Broadcast rights for the matches were held in Wales by theBBC andS4C. The match against Canada was shown live onBBC Two Wales with highlights on S4C, while the game against the United States was shown live on S4C with highlights on BBC Two Wales. Radio commentaries were provided byBBC Radio Wales for both matches andBBC Radio Cymru for the United States game.[18]
| History | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | |||||||||||
| Home stadiums | |||||||||||
| Competitions and trophies | |||||||||||
| Related teams | |||||||||||
| Matches |
| ||||||||||
| Tours |
| ||||||||||
| See also | |||||||||||
