Wales A national rugby union team

Rugby team
teamname=Wales A
country

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union = Welsh Rugby Union
emblem = the Prince of Wales's feathers
ground = Various
captain =
coach =
from = 2007
caps =
top scorer =
most tries =
pattern_la1 = | pattern_b1 = _red_white_collar | pattern_ra1 =
leftarm1 =FF0000 | body1 = FF0000 | rightarm1 =FF0000
shorts1 = FFFFFF | socks1 = FF0000

The Wales A team are the second national rugby union team behind the Welsh national side. They have not played a game since April 2002.

On the 20th February 2003, the Welsh Rugby Union were given permission to withdraw from the Six Nations "A" team tournament, citing costs as the primary reason [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/2632733.stm BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | International | Wales 'A' team cut approved ] ] . In September 2007 it was reported that the union turned down an offer to enter a "Wales A" side into the 2008 Churchill Cup competition [ [http://www.scrum.com/261_48043.php Scrum.com - Rugby News, Results, and Action, including the Rugby World Cup, from Scrum, the best Rugby Football site in the World : WRU rule out 'A' team return ] ] .

Prior to their current period of inactivity, their last coach was Mike Ruddock for the 2002 Six Nations "A" tournament, and included notable Wales internationals such as Tom Shanklin and Shane Williams [ [http://www.wru.co.uk/12550_17922.php Ireland A 55 Wales A 22 ] ] .

The side also has a history of playing touring Southern Hemisphere sides, the last being a 34-15 defeat to South Africa in 2000 [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/wales/1031217.stm BBC SPORT | WALES | Boks nous overcomes Wales ] ] .

References