The Wales men’s side will face USA in a friendly international at The Gnoll in Neath on Saturday 17th October (kick-off TBC).
It will be just the fourth time that the two sides have met in a senior men’s international. The first two were in Philadelphia in June 1995 where Wales, in preparation for that year’s World Cup, beat their hosts 66-10 and a record 92-4.
Then in 2013, USA beat Wales 24-16 in Wrexham to knock the joint hosts out of the World Cup in the group stages.
Wales head coach Paul Berry said: “It’s really exciting for us to have the opportunity to play the USA on home soil. It’s a nation we wouldn’t play too regularly at any level, so we jumped at the chance when we were presented with the opportunity.
“I’m hoping this Autumn, we can build on the work that we started last year and continue to give a number of our younger players more opportunities to play regular senior international matches and expose them to the international stage, which will further accelerate their development both individually and as a group as we progress over the next few years.”
The game will be played for International Rugby League ranking points, and Wales could face former captain Peter Lupton, who played for Wales against USA in the two countries’ last meeting in 2013. If selected for USA this time around, he could become the first person to captain both Wales and an international side facing the Welsh.
USA Rugby League chair, Matt Goschnick, said: “It’s been quite some time since the United States has had the opportunity to play in Wales, and we’re looking forward to the challenge this October.
“Since making significant changes to our national team programme and structure at the end of last year, we’ve seen encouraging progress, highlighted by our men’s victory over Scotland in Las Vegas. With a new generation of players emerging through our system, we’re excited to provide our squad with this valuable international experience as we continue to build for the future.
Tickets for the match will be released in due course.
