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= = = Early years ( 1881 – 1892 ) = = =
Rugby union took root in Wales in 1850 , when Reverend Rowland Williams became Vice @-@ Principal at St David 's College , Lampeter , where he introduced the sport . Wales played their first international on 19 February 1881 ; organised by Newport 's Richard Mullock , Wales played against England , losing by seven goa...
= = = First ' golden age ' ( 1893 – 1913 ) = = =
With the " four three @-@ quarter " formation Wales became Home International Champions for the first time in 1893 ; in the process winning the Triple Crown . Wales next won the Championship in 1900 , heralding the first " golden age " of Welsh rugby which was to last until 1911 . They won two more Triple Crowns in 19...
When Wales faced New Zealand 's All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in late 1905 they had not lost at home since 1899 . This New Zealand team – now referred to as the Original All Blacks – was the first of the southern hemisphere national teams to visit the British Isles , and were undefeated on their tour up until that p...
In 1906 , Wales again won the Home Championship , and later that year played the South African national side , the Springboks for the first time . Wales were favourites to win the match , but instead South Africa dominated in the forwards and eventually won 11 – 0 . Two years later , on 12 December 1908 , Wales played...
In 1909 , Wales won the Home Championship and then , in 1910 – with the inclusion of France – the first @-@ ever Five Nations . In 1911 , Wales took the first Five Nations Grand Slam by winning all their matches in the Five Nations ; France were heavily defeated by Wales at St Helens in 1910 ( 49 – 14 ) and Ivor Morga...
= = = Post @-@ war years ( 1920 – 1968 ) = = =
The post @-@ First World War years marked a decline in Welsh rugby . An industrial recession struck the principality , and hurt South Wales in particular . Welsh international results in the 1920s mirrored the performance of the economy : of their 42 matches they won only 17 , with three drawn . Half @-@ a @-@ million...
A resurgence of both economy and rugby union followed in the 1930s and , in 1931 , Wales won their first championship for nine years . That year , for the first time since the First World War , Wales retained the same side for two consecutive Tests when they faced England and Scotland . Then , in 1933 , captained by W...
Following the Second World War , Wales played a New Zealand Army team ( the Kiwis ) in 1946 , which Wales lost 11 – 3 . The Five Nations ( suspended during the war ) resumed in 1947 when Wales shared the title with England . Although Wales suffered their first home defeat to France in 1948 , they won their first Five ...
Wales conducted their first overseas tour in 1964 , playing several games and one Test in South Africa . They lost the Test against South Africa in Durban 24 – 3 , their biggest defeat in 40 years . At the WRU annual general meeting that year , the outgoing WRU President D. Ewart Davies declared that " it was evident ...
= = = Second ' golden age ' ( 1969 – 1979 ) = = =
Wales enjoyed a second " golden age " in the 1970s , with world @-@ class players such as Gareth Edwards , J. P. R. Williams , Gerald Davies , Barry John , and Mervyn Davies , in their side . Wales dominated Northern Hemisphere rugby between 1969 and 1979 , and attained an incredible winning record , losing only seven...
In 1970 , Wales shared the Five Nations with France , and recorded a 6 – 6 draw against South Africa in Cardiff . The following year Wales recorded their first Five Nations Grand Slam since 1952 . Using only 16 players in four games , the 1971 side achieved their most notable win of the tournament in their victory ove...
In the 1972 Five Nations Championship , Wales and Scotland refused to travel to Ireland at the height of the Troubles after receiving threats , purportedly from the Irish Republican Army . The Championship remained unresolved with Wales and Ireland unbeaten . Although the Five Nations was a five way tie in 1973 , the ...
Wales next won the Five Nations outright in 1975 , and in 1976 , Wales won their second Grand slam of the decade . Just like the first in 1971 , they only used 16 players over their four matches . They repeated the feat in 1978 and , in the process , became the first team to win three consecutive Triple Crowns . Follo...
Wales hosted the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in November 1979 , losing 13 – 12 after a late penalty goal by the replacement All Black fullback , Brian McKechnie . The penalty was controversial because All Black lock Andy Haden had dived out of a line @-@ out in an attempt to earn a penalty . Haden later admitted t...
= = = Barren years ( 1980 – 2003 ) = = =
In 1980 , the WRU 's centenary year , Wales lost to the All Blacks in Cardiff by 23 – 3 after the All Blacks scored four tries to nil . Wales won two matches in each Five Nations of 1980 and 1981 , and in 1983 were nearly upset by Japan ; winning 29 – 24 at Cardiff . In 1984 , Australia defeated Wales 28 – 9 at Cardif...
Wales achieved only one win in 1987 's Five Nations before contesting the inaugural Rugby World Cup . Wales defeated Ireland in their crucial pool fixture , before defeating England in the quarter @-@ finals . They then faced hosts the All Blacks who won 49 – 6 , but beat Australia in the third place play @-@ off game...
Welsh rugby reached a nadir when Wales suffered their first Five Nations championship whitewash ; they had upset England in 1989 to avoid losing all their Championship matches that season , but in 1990 Wales were defeated in all four Five Nations ' matches for the first time . The 1991 World Cup saw further frustratio...
After winning two Five Nations games in 1992 , and one in 1993 , Wales won the Championship in 1994 on points difference . But without defeating one of Australia , New Zealand , or South Africa , during the inter @-@ World Cup period , Wales was not considered a major tournament contender . At the 1995 World Cup , aft...
Record defeats , 51 – 0 to France , and 96 – 13 to South Africa , prompted the WRU to appoint New Zealander Graham Henry as coach in 1998 . Henry had early success as coach , leading Wales to a ten @-@ match winning streak ; this included Wales ' first ever victory over South Africa , by 29 – 19 . Henry was consequent...
During Hansen 's tenure , the WRU implemented a significant change in the structure of the game domestically . Regional teams were introduced as a tier above the traditional club @-@ based structures in 2003 , and the five ( then four ) regional sides became the top level of domestic professional rugby in the principa...
= = = Revival ( 2004 – present ) = = =
Coached by Mike Ruddock , Wales won their first Grand Slam since 1978 and their first ever Six Nations Grand Slam in 2005 . A late long range penalty from Gavin Henson gave them a victory over England at Cardiff for the first time in 12 years , and after victories over Italy , France , Scotland , they faced Ireland in...
Mike Ruddock resigned as the head coach of Wales mid @-@ way through the 2006 Six Nations , where Wales finished fifth , and Gareth Jenkins was eventually appointed as his replacement . Jenkins led Wales through the 2007 World Cup , where they failed to advance beyond the pool stage following a loss to Fiji . Jenkins ...
Wales faced England at Twickenham for Gatland 's inaugural match as coach and their first match of the 2008 Six Nations . They had not defeated England there since 1988 , and went on to win 26 – 19 . They eventually won all their Championship matches , conceding only two tries in the process , to claim another Grand S...
At the 2011 World Cup , Wales reached the tournament semi @-@ finals for the first time since 1987 where they lost 9 – 8 to France after a red card for captain Sam Warburton . The two teams met again in March 2012 , where Wales needed a win to claim their third Six Nations Grand Slam in eight years , which they did wi...
= = Strip = =
Wales play in red jerseys , white shorts and red socks . For the 2015 – 16 season , the design of the Jersey incorporated gold for the first time . The jerseys are embroidered with the Prince of Wales 's feathers , which were chosen in the 19th century by the WRU over another Welsh symbol , the leek , to demonstrate t...
Wales change strip – also known as the alternative strip – is black jerseys , shorts and socks. although there have been various different coloured strips in the past Former change strips worn by Wales have included a green , navy , white or grey jersey . Wales previously wore black jerseys as part of celebrations for...
= = Support = =
Rugby union and Wales ' national team hold an important place in Welsh culture and society . Sport historian John Bale has stated that " rugby is characteristically Welsh " , and David Andrew said that " To the popular consciousness , rugby is as Welsh as coal mining , male voice choirs , How Green Was My Valley , Dyl...
= = Grounds = =
Wales ' first home international was played at St Helen 's ground , Swansea in 1882 . In the 1880s and 1890s , home Welsh internationals were played at Cardiff , Swansea , Newport and Llanelli . Swansea continued to be used as an international venue until 1954 , when Cardiff Arms Park became Wales ' primary home venue...
By 1958 , the WRU had concluded that a new national ground was needed due to flooding that often plagued Arms Park . After debate and disputes between the WRU and various other parties , including Cardiff RFC , in the 1960s , it was decided that a new national stadium would be built with a new ground for the Cardiff c...
Currently , Wales play all their home matches at the 74 @,@ 500 capacity Millennium Stadium , Cardiff , which is also Wales ' national stadium . The Millennium Stadium was first conceived in 1994 , when a group redevelopment committee was set up . It was decided to replace the National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park aft...
= = Record = =
= = = Six Nations = = =
Wales compete annually in the Six Nations Championship , which is played against five other European nations : England , France , Ireland , Italy , and Scotland . The Six Nations started as the Home Nations Championship in 1883 , as a contest between the four component nations of the United Kingdom . Wales first won i...
= = = World Cup = = =
Wales have contested every Rugby World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987 . The 1987 tournament was Wales ' most successful ; they won all three pool matches and their quarter @-@ final , before losing to the All Blacks in the semi @-@ finals . They then faced Australia in the third place play @-@ off match , ...
= = = Overall = = =
When the World Rugby Rankings were introduced in October 2003 , Wales were ranked 8th . They rose to 7th in June 2004 , before falling back to 8th in November that year . Following a Grand Slam win in the 2005 Six Nations , they rose to a ranking position of 5th . They fell to 9th by June 2006 , and , after rising bac...
Wales have won 355 of their 690 Test matches for a 51 @.@ 45 % winning record . Their biggest Test defeat was 96 – 13 loss to South Africa in 1998 , and their largest victory a 98 – 0 defeat of Japan in 2004 . Their record for most tries in a match is 16 , scored against Portugal in 1994 – they also scored 102 points ...
Below is table summary of Wales Test matches up until 25 June 2016 .
= = Players = =
= = = Current squad = = =
On 10 May , Warren Gatland named a 35 @-@ man squad for their June 3 @-@ test series against New Zealand , pre @-@ tour test against England and the mid week match against the Chiefs .
On 29 May , after injury to Dan Lydiate in the England warm @-@ up match , Ellis Jenkins was called up to the squad to replace Lydiate .
On 7 June , Aaron Jarvis was called up to the squad as injury cover for Paul James . Jarvis later became a permanent replacement after James failed to recover form his injury .
On 11 June , Aled Davies joined the squad as an injury replacement for Lloyd Williams .
Following the first test , Keelan Giles and Rhys Patchell were called up to the squad as injury cover .
‡ – Denotes dual contracted players .
Caps and clubs updated 25 June 2016
= Anekantavada =
Anekāntavāda ( Sanskrit : अनेकान ् तवाद , " many @-@ sidedness " ) refers to the principles of pluralism and multiplicity of viewpoints , or vantage points , the notion that reality is perceived differently from diverse points of view , and that no single point of view is the complete truth , yet taken together they c...
Jains contrast all attempts to proclaim the sole monopoly on truth with andhagajanyāyah , which can be illustrated through the parable of the " blind men and an elephant " . In this story , each blind man felt a different part of an elephant ( trunk , leg , ear , etc . ) . All the men claimed to understand and explain...
The origins of anekāntavāda can be traced back to the teachings of Mahāvīra ( 599 – 527 BCE ) , the 24th Jain Tīrthankara . The dialectical concepts of syādvāda " conditioned viewpoints " and nayavāda " partial viewpoints " arose from anekāntavāda , providing it with more detailed logical structure and expression . Th...
Anekāntavāda encourages its adherents to consider the views and beliefs of their rivals and opposing parties . Proponents of anekāntavāda apply this principle to religion and philosophy , reminding themselves that any religion or philosophy — even Jainism — which clings too dogmatically to its own tenets , is committi...
= = Philosophical overview = =
The etymological root of anekāntavāda lies in the compound of two Sanskrit words : anekānta ( " manifoldness " ) and vāda ( " school of thought " ) . The word anekānta is a compound of the Sanskrit negative prefix an , eka ( " one " ) , and anta ( " attribute " ) . Hence , anekānta means " not of solitary attribute " ...
The Jain doctrine lays a strong emphasis on samyaktva , that is , rationality and logic . According to Jains , the ultimate principle should always be logical and no principle can be devoid of logic or reason . Thus , the Jain texts contain deliberative exhortations on every subject , whether they are constructive or ...