In 2009, the Wales national rugby union team toured North America to play tests against Canada and the United 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 the British & Irish Lions' squad for their tour to South Africa. Five players earned their first Wales caps on the tour, including future captain Sam Warburton and centre Jonathan Davies.
With head coach Warren Gatland and attack coach Rob Howley on the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa, forwards coach Robin McBryde was named as coach for Wales' tour of North America.[1] Captain Ryan 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] After James Hook was called up to the Lions tour, Sonny Parker was added to the Wales touring party. Prop Eifion Lewis-Roberts dropped out of the tour due to a knee ligament injury and was replaced by Paul James, while full-back Dan Evans was called up to replace Gareth Owen, who suffered an Achilles injury. The squad was finally reduced to 26 with the dropping of Scarlets flanker Rob McCusker and Blues wing Richard Mustoe, in addition to the unavailability of Dragons players Luke Charteris, Lewis Evans, Dan Lydiate and Jason Tovey due to their involvement in a Heineken Cup play-off.[4] Charteris rejoined the squad for the second match against the United States after Bradley Davies suffered an injury.[5]
McBryde named an inexperienced team for Wales' opening match against Canada; aside from scrum-half Gareth 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 prop Craig Mitchell, flanker Sam Warburton and centre Jonathan Spratt.[7] Early penalties from James Pritchard gave Canada a 6–0 lead inside the opening quarter of an hour, but a try from Chris Czekaj, making his first Wales appearance for almost two years, was converted by Dan 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 by Dwayne Peel for the second half. A try from Sean Duke, converted by Pritchard, levelled the scores early in the second half, only for Tom James to put Wales back in front with another converted try, before Biggar stretched Wales' lead with another two penalties shortly afterwards. A try by Ed 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.[8]
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 for Mark Jones, who had missed the Canada game due to injury. McBryde also replaced both half-backs, with Peel and Nicky Robinson coming in for Cooper and Biggar; in the forwards, hooker Gareth Williams replaced Richard Hibbard, while Ian Gough started in place of the injured Bradley Davies in the second row; Dragons lock Luke Charteris came onto the bench after joining the tour late, leaving Scarlets flanker Josh Turnbull and Ospreys centre Sonny Parker as the only touring players not to make an appearance in either match.[9] For the United States, coach Eddie O'Sullivan dropped former Scarlets and Dragons fly-half Mike Hercus, and replaced him with Ata Malifa.[10]
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 wing Gavin 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-rower Robin Sowden-Taylor had to be substituted before half an hour had been played, forcing Hibbard into filling in in an unfamiliar position. United States flanker Louis 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 from Alipate 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, making JJ Gagiano's late try mere consolation.[11] James and Ryan Jones were sent for scans on their injuries on their return from the tour.[12]
Broadcast rights for the matches were held in Wales by the BBC and S4C. The match against Canada was shown live on BBC 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 by BBC Radio Wales for both matches and BBC Radio Cymru for the United States game.[13]
Referencesedit
^"McBryde to lead Wales summer tour". BBC Sport. 22 October 2008. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
^"Ryan Jones suffers shock omission". BBC Sport. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
^"Jones to captain Wales tour party". BBC Sport. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
^"Parker takes over from Lion Hook". BBC Sport. 23 May 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
^"Peel returns as Wales take on USA". BBC Sport. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
^"Canada name squad to face Wales". BBC Sport. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
^"Scarlets duo set for Wales debuts". BBC Sport. 26 May 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
^"Canada 23-32 Wales". BBC Sport. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^"Peel returns as Wales take on USA". BBC Sport. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^"Eagles drop outside-half Hercus". BBC Sport. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^"United States 15-48 Wales". BBC Sport. 6 June 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^"Jones and James poised for scans". BBC Sport. 8 June 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^"BBC and S4C to screen Wales tour". BBC Sport. 14 May 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
May 01, 2024
2009, wales, rugby, union, tour, north, america, 2009, wales, national, rugby, union, team, toured, north, america, play, tests, against, canada, united, states, they, both, matches, beating, canada, toronto, before, over, united, states, chicago, june, wales,. In 2009 the Wales national rugby union team toured North America to play tests against Canada and the United 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 the British amp Irish Lions squad for their tour to South Africa Five players earned their first Wales caps on the tour including future captain Sam Warburton and centre Jonathan Davies 2009 Wales rugby union tour of North AmericaDate30 May 6 June 2009Coach es Robin McBryde caretaker Tour captain s Ryan JonesSummaryPWDLTotal0 20 20 00 0Test match0 20 20 00 0OpponentPWDL Canada1100 United States1100Tour chronologyPrevious tourSouth Africa 2008Next tourNew Zealand 2010 Contents 1 Squads 1 1 Wales 1 2 Canada 2 Matches 2 1 Canada v Wales 2 2 United States v Wales 3 Broadcasting 4 ReferencesSquads editWales edit With head coach Warren Gatland and attack coach Rob Howley on the 2009 British amp Irish Lions tour to South Africa forwards coach Robin McBryde was named as coach for Wales tour of North America 1 Captain Ryan 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 After James Hook was called up to the Lions tour Sonny Parker was added to the Wales touring party Prop Eifion Lewis Roberts dropped out of the tour due to a knee ligament injury and was replaced by Paul James while full back Dan Evans was called up to replace Gareth Owen who suffered an Achilles injury The squad was finally reduced to 26 with the dropping of Scarlets flanker Rob McCusker and Blues wing Richard Mustoe in addition to the unavailability of Dragons players Luke Charteris Lewis Evans Dan Lydiate and Jason Tovey due to their involvement in a Heineken Cup play off 4 Charteris rejoined the squad for the second match against the United States after Bradley Davies suffered an injury 5 Name Position Club Notes Richard Hibbard Hooker Ospreys Gareth Williams Hooker Cardiff Blues Paul James Prop Ospreys Replaced Eifion Lewis Roberts due to injury Duncan Jones Prop Ospreys Eifion Lewis Roberts Prop Sale Sharks Withdrew due to injury Craig Mitchell Prop Ospreys John Yapp Prop Cardiff Blues Luke Charteris Lock Newport Gwent Dragons Unavailable due to club commitments rejoined squad for United States match Bradley Davies Lock Cardiff Blues Ian Gough Lock Ospreys Deiniol Jones Lock Cardiff Blues Lewis Evans Back row Newport Gwent Dragons Unavailable due to club commitments Dafydd Jones Back row Scarlets Ryan Jones Back row Ospreys Captain Dan Lydiate Back row Newport Gwent Dragons Unavailable due to club commitments Rob McCusker Back row Scarlets Dropped prior to tour Robin Sowden Taylor Back row Cardiff Blues Josh Turnbull Back row Scarlets Sam Warburton Back row Cardiff Blues Gareth Cooper Scrum half Gloucester Dwayne Peel Scrum half Sale Sharks Dan Biggar Fly half Ospreys Nicky Robinson Fly half Cardiff Blues Andrew Bishop Centre Ospreys Jonathan Davies Centre Scarlets James Hook Centre Ospreys Sonny Parker Centre Ospreys Jonathan Spratt Centre Ospreys Chris Czekaj Wing Cardiff Blues Tom James Wing Cardiff Blues Mark Jones Wing Scarlets Richard Mustoe Wing Cardiff Blues Dropped prior to tour Dan Evans Full back Scarlets Replaced Gareth Owen due to injury Gareth Owen Full back Ospreys Withdrew due to injury Jason Tovey Full back Newport Gwent Dragons Unavailable due to club commitments Canada edit Canada head coach Kieran Crowley named a 31 man squad for their games against Wales and Ireland and for the Churchill Cup The squad included uncapped forwards Chauncey O Toole and Andrew Tiedemann while centre Dave Spicer and former Wales under 21 lock Luke Tait 6 Matches editCanada v Wales edit McBryde named an inexperienced team for Wales opening match against Canada aside from scrum half Gareth 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 prop Craig Mitchell flanker Sam Warburton and centre Jonathan Spratt 7 Early penalties from James Pritchard gave Canada a 6 0 lead inside the opening quarter of an hour but a try from Chris Czekaj making his first Wales appearance for almost two years was converted by Dan 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 by Dwayne Peel for the second half A try from Sean Duke converted by Pritchard levelled the scores early in the second half only for Tom James to put Wales back in front with another converted try before Biggar stretched Wales lead with another two penalties shortly afterwards A try by Ed 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 8 30 May 200914 45 EDTCanada nbsp 23 32 nbsp WalesTry Duke 42 cFairhurst 58 cCon Pritchard 2 43 59 Pen Pritchard 3 9 14 30 ReportTry Czekaj 16 cJames 48 cCon Biggar 2 17 49 Pen Biggar 6 21 27 33 53 56 72 York Stadium Toronto Attendance 8 450Referee Matt Goddard Australia FB 15 James Pritchard RW 14 Ciaran Hearn OC 13 D T H van der Merwe IC 12 Ryan Smith LW 11 Sean Duke nbsp 62 FH 10 Ander Monro nbsp 40 SH 9 Ed Fairhurst nbsp 74 N8 8 Aaron Carpenter OF 7 Adam Kleeberger BF 6 Nanyak Dala nbsp 69 RL 5 Luke Tait nbsp 21 nbsp 61 LL 4 Mike Burak TP 3 Andrew Tiedemann nbsp 60 HK 2 Pat Riordan c LP 1 Kevin Tkachuk Replacements HK 16 Mike Pletch nbsp 60 PR 17 Doug Wooldridge nbsp 69 LK 18 Tyler Hotson nbsp 61 FL 19 Sean Michael Stephen nbsp 40 SH 20 Matt Evans nbsp 74 FH 21 Dave Spicer nbsp 62 CE 22 Phil Mack Coach nbsp Kieran Crowley nbsp FB 15 Dan Evans RW 14 Tom James OC 13 Jonathan Davies nbsp 73 IC 12 Andrew Bishop LW 11 Chris Czekaj FH 10 Dan Biggar SH 9 Gareth Cooper nbsp 40 N8 8 Ryan Jones c OF 7 Robin Sowden Taylor BF 6 Dafydd Jones RL 5 Deiniol Jones LL 4 Bradley Davies TP 3 John Yapp nbsp 61 HK 2 Richard Hibbard nbsp 76 LP 1 Duncan Jones Replacements HK 16 Gareth Williams nbsp 76 PR 17 Craig Mitchell nbsp 61 LK 18 Ian Gough FL 19 Sam Warburton SH 20 Dwayne Peel nbsp 40 FH 21 Nicky Robinson CE 22 Jonathan Spratt nbsp 73 Coach nbsp Robin McBryde United States v Wales edit 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 for Mark Jones who had missed the Canada game due to injury McBryde also replaced both half backs with Peel and Nicky Robinson coming in for Cooper and Biggar in the forwards hooker Gareth Williams replaced Richard Hibbard while Ian Gough started in place of the injured Bradley Davies in the second row Dragons lock Luke Charteris came onto the bench after joining the tour late leaving Scarlets flanker Josh Turnbull and Ospreys centre Sonny Parker as the only touring players not to make an appearance in either match 9 For the United States coach Eddie O Sullivan dropped former Scarlets and Dragons fly half Mike Hercus and replaced him with Ata Malifa 10 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 wing Gavin 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 rower Robin Sowden Taylor had to be substituted before half an hour had been played forcing Hibbard into filling in in an unfamiliar position United States flanker Louis 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 from Alipate 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 making JJ Gagiano s late try mere consolation 11 James and Ryan Jones were sent for scans on their injuries on their return from the tour 12 6 June 200913 00 CDTUnited States nbsp 15 48 nbsp WalesTry Tuilevuka 53 cGagiano 80 1 mCon DeBartolo 54 Pen DeBartolo 13 ReportTry M Jones 15 cJ Davies 2 21 c 78 cPenalty try 35 cJames 62 cCooper 70 cCon Robinson 3 15 36 64 James 22 Biggar 2 71 79 Pen Robinson 2 9 11 Toyota Park Bridgeview Illinois Referee Matt Goddard Australia FB 15 Chris Wyles RW 14 Gavin DeBartolo OC 13 Alipate Tuilevuka IC 12 Roland Suniula LW 11 Kevin Swiryn nbsp 67 FH 10 Ata Malifa nbsp 42 SH 9 Mike Petri c nbsp 68 N8 8 Nic Johnson OF 7 Peter Dahl BF 6 Louis Stanfill nbsp 33 RL 5 Hayden Smith LL 4 John van der Giessen TP 3 Will Johnson nbsp 66 HK 2 Chris Biller nbsp 56 LP 1 Matekitonga Moeakiola nbsp 66 Replacements HK 16 Brian McClenahan nbsp 56 PR 17 Mike MacDonald nbsp 66 LK 18 Courtney Mackay N8 19 JJ Gagiano nbsp 66 SH 20 Tim Usasz nbsp 68 FH 21 Mike Hercus nbsp 42 WG 22 Junior Sifa nbsp 67 Coach nbsp Eddie O Sullivan nbsp FB 15 Dan Evans nbsp 61 RW 14 Tom James nbsp 69 OC 13 Jonathan Davies IC 12 Andrew Bishop LW 11 Mark Jones FH 10 Nicky Robinson nbsp 64 SH 9 Dwayne Peel N8 8 Ryan Jones c nbsp 19 OF 7 Robin Sowden Taylor nbsp 29 BF 6 Dafydd Jones RL 5 Deiniol Jones LL 4 Ian Gough nbsp 48 TP 3 John Yapp nbsp 48 nbsp 64 HK 2 Gareth Williams LP 1 Duncan Jones nbsp 64 Replacements HK 16 Richard Hibbard nbsp 29 PR 17 Craig Mitchell nbsp 48 LK 18 Luke Charteris nbsp 48 FL 19 Sam Warburton nbsp 19 SH 20 Gareth Cooper nbsp 69 FH 21 Dan Biggar nbsp 64 CE 22 Jonathan Spratt nbsp 61 Coach nbsp Robin McBrydeBroadcasting editBroadcast rights for the matches were held in Wales by the BBC and S4C The match against Canada was shown live on BBC 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 by BBC Radio Wales for both matches and BBC Radio Cymru for the United States game 13 References edit McBryde to lead Wales summer tour BBC Sport 22 October 2008 Retrieved 16 March 2023 Ryan Jones suffers shock omission BBC Sport 21 April 2009 Retrieved 16 March 2023 Jones to captain Wales tour party BBC Sport 11 May 2009 Retrieved 16 March 2023 Parker takes over from Lion Hook BBC Sport 23 May 2009 Retrieved 17 March 2023 Peel returns as Wales take on USA BBC Sport 2 June 2009 Retrieved 17 March 2023 Canada name squad to face Wales BBC Sport 14 May 2009 Retrieved 17 March 2023 Scarlets duo set for Wales debuts BBC Sport 26 May 2009 Retrieved 17 March 2023 Canada 23 32 Wales BBC Sport 30 May 2009 Retrieved 18 March 2023 Peel returns as Wales take on USA BBC Sport 2 June 2009 Retrieved 18 March 2023 Eagles drop outside half Hercus BBC Sport 4 June 2009 Retrieved 18 March 2023 United States 15 48 Wales BBC Sport 6 June 2009 Retrieved 18 March 2023 Jones and James poised for scans BBC Sport 8 June 2009 Retrieved 18 March 2023 BBC and S4C to screen Wales tour BBC Sport 14 May 2009 Retrieved 17 March 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2009 Wales rugby union tour of North America amp oldid 1145921061, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
