Wales will warm-up for their summer tour to the southern hemisphere by heading to North Wales to play Principality Premiership club RGC.
The touring party for Tonga and Samoa – which will be minus the Welsh players picked for the Lions – will also undergo a six-day training camp in Colwyn Bay prior to the game.
Coach Robin McByrde, who will lead Wales for the two fixtures this June, will put his squad through their paces in a fixture against RGC on Friday June 2.
“We are delighted to be heading to North Wales this summer,” said McBryde.
“The camp will be the first week the whole squad for the tour convene after their respective regional and club commitments so we will be looking to hit the ground running.
“We received a fantastic welcome to North Wales on our last visit as part of our Rugby World Cup preparation in 2015 and I’m delighted that we are able to return once again.
“The North Wales community welcomed us with open arms on our last visit and they have taken Wales U20 under their wing so it’s great to be able to take the national squad back to North Wales.
“The facilities are great at Parc Eirias and will provide us with the exactly what we are looking for in terms of a training camp.
“With preparation for the tour at a premium it was vital we had the opportunity to have a proper run-out as a squad and I’d like to thank Mark Jones and Sion Jones from RGC in accepting the invitation for a game.
“Not only will the match be hugely important for the squad off the field, it will be a great spectacle to see RGC line-up against the Welsh side and a huge opportunity for all those players.”
Wales will head to Colwyn Bay on Sunday May 28th and train at the state-of-the-art facilities at Parc Eirias. Full details on the fixture will be announced in due course but RGC head coach Mark Jones said: “This fixture is a fantastic opportunity for RGC and North Wales rugby to help Wales prepare for their important up and coming tour. Perhaps even more importantly for me, it shows how far we’ve come as a Development Region. Players who have come right through the pathway in North Wales will have the ultimate honour – the chance to play against our National Team, demonstrating the pathway now in place for North Wales players to develop to a very high level.”
Sion Jones, General Manager, North Wales Development Region added:“Hosting Wales for this significant fixture is testament to the work, development and progress being made in the North Wales Development Region. Our vision in North Wales is to promote a vibrant sport from community level to semi-professional rugby and beyond, and on Friday 2 June all of our players, supporters and volunteers will see this ambition brought to life on the pitch in what should be a remarkable spectacle for rugby in Wales.”