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Wales 'looking forward' to playing South Africa in U.S.

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Boks won't pick A side and B side (1:38)

Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus talks about the importance of his team's coming Tests against Wales and England. (1:38)

Wales expect their end-of-season Test against South Africa in Washington D.C. to go ahead despite reports that it is under threat.

The two sides are due to meet at the RFK Stadium on June 2 ahead of Wales' tour of Argentina and the Springboks' home series against England.

However, according to the Daily Mail, low ticket sales and financial difficulties at Rugby International Marketing (RIM), the company that is staging the match, had put that in doubt.

RIM, a for-profit arm of USA Rugby that is part-funded by the Rugby Football Union and Harlequins, reportedly made a loss of £3 million (R51.7m) last year while 27,000 tickets need to be sold for the match to break even.

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), SA Rugby and RIM all remain confident, though, that the game will take place with the organisers insisting that over 12,000 tickets have already been sold.

"We are looking forward to playing South Africa in Washington D.C. on June 2 as part of our 2018 summer tour," a WRU spokesperson said.

"Beyond the contracted game, we have a number of local activities planned during our week in the U.S. and we're confident the team will be great ambassadors for Welsh rugby."

It had been suggested that either South Africa or Wales could be asked to step aside so the other could play the USA Eagles.

While RIM board member Mark Lambourne admitted that a "healthy debate" had taken place at a USA Rugby meeting last month, he insisted that plans for the match remained on schedule.

"The ticket sales are currently tracking, with over 12,000 sold to date and it is still well over a month until Wales and South Africa meet at the RFK Stadium in Washington D.C," Lambourne said.

"Published USA Rugby minutes from last month transcribe the fact that a healthy debate was had about the game, with directors entirely within their rights to discuss the benefits for USA Rugby. For the elimination of any doubt, the fixture was since officially sanctioned and preparations are going ahead at full pace.

"We are all very much looking forward to welcoming Wales and the Springboks to Washington D.C. on June 2."