Shaken off: Taylor Swift concert forces Wales to switch match to Twickenham

Wales will face South Africa, the world champions, at Twickenham in June as part of preparations for their tour to Australia. The Principality Stadium in Cardiff is unavailable as Taylor Swift performs there on 18 June, with the Foo Fighters appearing there the following week.

The Springboks’ first game since their World Cup triumph in France will take place on 22 June. The match will be followed by the Barbarians tackling Fiji. Twickenham last staged a Wales versus South Africa fixture during the 2015 World Cup, when the Springboks won a tense quarter-final 23-19.

After playing the Springboks, Wales have two Tests against Australia, meeting the Wallabies in Sydney on 6 July and in Melbourne seven days later.

Were a Welsh region to reach this season’s United Rugby Championship final, Wales would be without those players as it is scheduled to take place on the same day as the Springboks game. Ospreys are the highest-placed Welsh region in seventh, with the top eight of 16 teams reaching the playoffs. Cardiff, Scarlets and Dragons are further adrift. The same situation would apply to South Africa in the event of securing a URC finalist. Bulls and Stormers are second and sixth respectively.

“I am incredibly excited about the fixture list for Wales this summer,” the Wales head coach, Warren Gatland, said. “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 that we will relish.

“We are also excited for the opportunity we have with our two Tests in Australia in July. We know the Wallabies will be hurting after the Rugby World Cup [Australia made a pool stage exit], but we are expecting a fired-up side led by new head coach Joe Schmidt.”