Wales to face Australia in Melbourne and Sydney on summer tour

Image source, Paul Harding

Image caption, Jac Morgan scored one of Wales' three tries as they produced a record win over Australia to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup

Wales' two-Test tour of Australia in July will see matches take place in Sydney and Melbourne.

Warren Gatland will take his side to face the Wallabies this summer for Joe Schmidt's first games in charge of Australia.

The first international will take place at Sydney's Allianz Stadium on 6 July before Wales travel to play at AAMI Park in Melbourne seven days later.

Kick-off times for the Tests are yet to be confirmed.

Wales will travel to Australia for the first time since 2012, when they lost their series 3-0 with a trio of narrow defeats.

Gatland has since enjoyed successive World Cup victories against Australia in 2019 and 2023, including a record 40-6 win in Lyon last year.

Wales will face Australia three times in 2024 with the Wallabies also confirming they will travel to Cardiff on 16 November.

Wales are in negotiations about a tour warm-up match against world champions South Africa at Twickenham on one of the two final weekends of June, while they could also have an international after the second Test in Australia.

Video caption, Six Nations 2024: A weekend in the life of 大象传媒 Sport pundit & ex-Wales captain Warburton

Renewing rivalries

Former Ireland boss Schmidt was appointed in January, replacing Eddie Jones after Australia's calamitous World Cup campaign.

Jones won just two from nine Tests before quitting and returning to Japan as head coach.

After facing Wales, Australia return to Sydney to meet Georgia on July 20 for the first time outside of a World Cup.

Australia are also hosting world champions South Africa twice this year as part of the Rugby Championship, with those matches being played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on August 10 and a week later at Perth Stadium.

The Wallabies' sixth and final Test on home soil in 2024 sees New Zealand head to Sydney on September 21 for the first Bledisloe Cup Test.