The Twickenham date on the 22nd of June will be a double header with the touring Barbarians side also featuring at the London venue against Fiji later in the day.
This will be second time Wales and South Africa go head-to-head against each other at one of the world’s most famous venues. The Boks edged it 23-19 the last time both teams met at the 82,000-capacity stadium in the 2015 World Cup Quarter-Final.
It is not the first time this season a South African side has faced a Welsh side in London, after the Ospreys faced the Hollywood Bets Sharks in November at the Twickenham Stoop in the United Rugby Championship.
The Welsh region triumphed 19-5 on that day and Wales will hope a similar result can be replicated to kick-start their summer programme in style before flying down under to Melbourne to face the new look Wallabies under Kiwi Joe Schmidt.
The date itself and venue, however, are both controversial, whilst innovative talking points with the URC final taking place on the same day, whilst a fixture outside of the capital still lies uneasy with some.
Logistically the fixture is a no brainer for the visitors and with the summer music schedule in place at the Principality Stadium, it will solve problems for the WRU looking for a large sell-out crowd.
“I’m incredibly excited about the fixture list for Wales this summer,” said Wales head coach Warren Gatland.
“To have the opportunity for our young squad to test itself against the world champions at a neutral venue is an extremely important experience and something we will relish.
“It should also be a great occasion for the fans and something a little bit different for them.”
General admission tickets go on sale from Friday 23 February at 10am – visit Ticketmaster, Ticketek or RFU to secure your seat.
Each ticket will cover entry for both South Africa vs Wales (K.O. 2pm) and Barbarians vs Fiji (K.O. 5.15pm) on Saturday 22 June, starting from just £55* for Adults and £28* for Under-16s. For a 10% discount on groups of 10 or more, please visit www.eticketing.co.uk/rfu/events.
[Lead image: Welsh Rugby Union]
