Wales will play two Tests against the Springboks, the first at Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein, on Saturday June 7th and the second at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, on Saturday June 14th (both kick-offs 15:00 local time).
The series will again contest the Prince William Cup which South Africa claimed after their successful visit to the Millennium Stadium last year.
The tour will be new Coach Warren Gatland’s first at the helm and, although he has the upcoming RBS Six Nations campaign at the forefront of his current thinking, he says the trip to South Africa could come at the perfect time.
“The fixtures will certainly come at us thick and fast now, we start our campaign against the top team in the northern hemisphere when we face England at Twickenham on Saturday and my first season with Wales finishes off against the world’s best,” said Gatland.
“By the summer I hope to have a settled squad and a clear idea of what needs to be done to improve our prospects in both the short and long term.
“South Africa seems a long way off at the moment, but the tour will be on us before we know it and we’ll find ourselves in the privileged position of being able to test ourselves against the World Champions at probably the ideal time for our own development.”
WRU Group Chief Executive Roger Lewis added: “Warren has said openly he wants Wales to be in the top five of the IRB World Rankings by the time his contract expires in four years time.
“We currently lie in 10th position and it is only by pitting ourselves against the best teams world rugby has to offer that we will be able to achieve our aims.
“The Welsh rugby team will never shy away from the big challenges and there could have been no better tour for us this summer than to visit the home of the World Champions, play in two high intensity Test matches and gain a true measure of our progress.”
