07-05-2025
Wales rugby stars were confronted by gunman in stand-off after toilet fight
Wales rugby stars were confronted by gunman in stand-off after toilet fight
The incident unfolded during a tough tour of South Africa in 2008
Tom Shanklin and Warren Gatland on the podcast
(Image: Stick To Rugby podcast )
Tom Shanklin has recalled the terrifying moment he and his Wales team-mates were threatened by a gunman during a tour of South Africa.
Wales played two games against the Springboks as part of a two Test series back in 2008, succumbing to a 43-17 defeat in Bloemfontein before going down 37-21 in Pretoria a week later.
The former winger, remembers it as a 'tough tour', but events off the pitch were arguably far more hair-raising, with Shanklin recalling a chilling incident that unfolded during an ill-advised night out.
Casting his mind back to that tour alongside former boss Warren Gatland on an episode of the Stick to Rugby podcast, he asked the Kiwi coach: "Do you remember 2008 when we toured South Africa? I think it was the second Test we played against them.
"You tried to keep us out of town, so they hired a Castle Bus, the lager, and they just took us around.
"It had no windows, but there was a bar inside.
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"The plan was just so we could stay confined. But that didn't stop us and we headed out that night.
"Something happened in one of the toilets, it might have been a fight with a local and one of our players.
"The guy who was a local there, he came back about five minutes later and he had a gun on him!"
"I wasn't there," Gatland swiftly interjected.
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"So there we had armed security with us and this guy pulled a gun," Shanklin continued.
"All these security guards with us were just saying 'face them, walk back slowly'.
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"So we're all doing that, apart from one person; Mark Davies the physio. He just sprints past us and gets on the van and hides.
"It was a tough tour."
