Wales book extra games

Australia will prove a tough test for Wales

Wales have confirmed they will be facing Australia and Fiji next year in the run-up to the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

The game in Australia will link in with the summer tour of New Zealand, while a match against Fiji will be played either on the same visit or on the way to the Rugby World Cup itself.

Wales will now face at least 16 internationals next year before the knockout stages of the world cup, while contractual obligations to Romania could force a fourth match in November this year.

Included in the programme are matches against Six Nations rivals England, Scotland and Ireland.

That means that both England and Ireland will visit Cardiff twice in 2003, as they also face Millennium Stadium Six Nations encounters during February and March respectively.