Samoans On Way To Cardiff For Clashes With Wales

Welsh are ready to take on Samoa in a two-Test series early next month.

But it won’t be the Samoan rugby union team in Cardiff with the clashes with Wales.

Samoa are at Twickenham for a rugby international against England, while Wales have back-to-back netball Tests.

They are at the Sport Wales National Centre, Cardiff on Tuesday, December 5 and Thursday, December 6 (both 7.30pm).

The two-test December Series is part of Netball Samoa’s UK tour. They play Scottish Thistles before coming to Wales

It is all the more exciting as this will be the first time that Wales have hosted Samoa in a Test series on a Welsh court.

The matches against Samoa, ranked 14 in the World, come as the netball season is stepping up a gear for Wales. Following the Netball Europe Open Championships in October, Wales played Team Bath in Ebbw Vale and are now preparing for the Samoans.

These matches are critical preparation with Wales looking towards the World Cup qualifiers in January and then the Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast during April.

“We are looking forward to welcoming Samoa to Cardiff for the first time and showcasing even more international netball in Wales during what has been a busy year,” said head of performance Rosie Pretorius.

“Samoa bring a different style which will be exciting to watch and it will give our Welsh players the opportunity to build on their performances at Netball Europe.”

Wales head coach Trish Wilcox renews acquaintances with Samoan netball, saying: “During 2013 I was coaching the Samoa under-21 team at the World Youth Cup in Glasgow when Samoa was in the same pool as Wales.

“This is where I first saw several of the players that are now in the current Wales senior squad when Samoa played against Wales.

“They achieved sixth place at the tournament and I remember being really impressed with that group of youngsters and thinking that boded well for Wales. Little did I know then that I would be coaching those players.

“It was a privilege and I thoroughly enjoyed coaching Samoa at that tournament and am proud of our achievement of finishing 10th which was then their highest placing in that tournament.”

Tickets for Wales v Samoa cost £10 for adults, £6 for concessions and are available from www.ticketline.co.uk/welsh-netball 

There will be a special Black Friday ticket promotion on November 24.

Welsh Netball is also able to offer group discounts for affiliated clubs in groups of over 10 at £8 per adult and £5 per concession.

Wales played Vitality Netball Superleague club Team Bath in a challenge match at Ebbw Vale Sports Centre. The fixture provided the opportunity to test a range of combinations and tactics.

The match composed of six periods which the Welsh management used to showcase a range of players from the Wales long squad. They also to tried players in some different positions.

Wales began with a familiar starting seven and were off to a strong start. They were patient in attack, passing fluently between attack and defence in order to create goals.

There was a great intensity on court and Bath only had a narrow advantage going into the first break.

Bath built a lead going into half-time as Wales were making full use of what was a training exercise, rolling substitutes on and off.

The final score of 92-43 to Bath was a disappointment to those in red, it was excellent exposure for a number of players.

Pretorius said: “It was great to see so many of our young players taking to the court. Playing six quarters enabled the team to try lots of combinations and work on players’ second choice positions.

“It was unfortunate that we were missing a few key players due to injury, but with that comes more opportunity for the developing players to step up to the plate.”