Broadcast deal sorted for Wales' summer Tests to be live on free-to-air TV

WALES men’s summer Tests will be shown live on S4C along with the vital women’s key WXV play-off against Spain.

Warren Gatland’s side take on South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday, June 22 before Tests against Australia on July 6 and 13.

All three of those fixtures will on free-to-air television along with the Welsh women’s encounter with Spain at Cardiff Arms Park, which has been moved to a later time slot on Saturday, June 29 (kick-off 5.35pm).

Gatland’s men will aim to stun the world champions in London (kick-off 2pm) as part of a double-header, with Fiji taking on the Barbarians afterwards.

They then face the Wallabies in Sydney and Melbourne (kick-offs 10.45am) before a friendly against Queensland Reds on Friday, July 19.

Gatland’s men are aiming to bounce back from an awful Six Nations and so are Ioan Cunningham’s side, although they did avoid a whitewash by beating Italy in their finale.

CLASH: Wales and Sisilia Tuipulotu have Spain in their sights (Image: PA)

Wales have qualified for the WXV tournament but victory against the Spanish would ensure qualification for WXV2 in South Africa, with the runner-up playing in WXV3 in Dubai.

Head coach Cunningham said: “The WVX play-off against Spain at Cardiff Arms Park is a major Test match and S4C recognise how important it is for the team and the nation by broadcasting the game live at the end of June.

"A record 10,592 crowd turned up to support the team for the last home game at Principality Stadium, and the support that day played a key role in the 20-22 against Italy and we need to build on that performance.

"Six players made their Wales debuts during the recent Six Nations campaign and building the depth in the squad is a key area we have identified before the next World Cup in 2025.

"Exposing some of the exciting young talent we have in Wales to the Test match arena will increase competition, drive standards and make us a better team for the challenges ahead of us.

"Playing at home and pulling on the red jersey is always a privilege for all the squad and is something the players don’t take for granted.

“The opportunity to play in front of our own supporters is always a special experience and the players realise the responsibility of representing Wales on the world stage.”