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Wales have confirmed they will face England at Twickenham in May as part of their preparations for the 2016 summer tour to World Champions New Zealand.

WalesOnline revealed details of the proposed fixture in September with the game now confirmed to take place in London on May 29.

The 80 minutes will form a vital part of Warren Gatland's preparations to take on the All Blacks in their own back yard, a three Test tour on which the Kiwi coach is placing a great deal of emphasis.

(Image: Getty Images)

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It means that with the 2016 Six Nations, the game with England and a tour to New Zealand followed by four autumn internationals, Wales will face all of World Rugby's best sides over the course of the next 12 months.

The move continues Gatland's mantra that Wales, currently ranked fourth in the world after the recent World Cup, must continue to test themselves against the best teams about in order to progress as a side.

Wales' first game of 2016 sees them visit Ireland in Dublin for their Six Nations opener before back-to-back home matches with Scotland and France at what will then be known as the Principality Stadium.

Gatland's boys end their Championship tilt with a trip to Twickenham to face England and a finale with Italy in Cardiff.

(Image: Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

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On May 29 they will once again face England at Twickenham before travelling to the land of the world's best team for three Tests with the All Blacks and a midweek fixture with Super Rugby giants the Chiefs.

The return of the autumn internationals in 2016 will see Wales meet Australia, Argentina, one team yet to be confirmed and South Africa on consecutive weekends in November.

All three of those sides named were, of course, World Cup semi-finalists with those November games bringing a run of 14 tough games next year to an end.

Wales fixtures for 2016

RBS 6 Nations:

Ireland v Wales, Aviva Stadium (Sunday, February 7. KO 3pm)

Wales v Scotland, Principality Stadium (Saturday, February 13. KO 4.50pm. SOLD OUT)

Wales v France, Principality Stadium (Friday, February 26. KO 8.05pm)

England v Wales, Twickenham (Saturday, March 12. KO 4.00pm)

Wales v Italy, Principality Stadium (Saturday, March 19. KO 2.30pm)

Summer 2016:

England v Wales, Twickenham (Sunday, May 29)

New Zealand v Wales, Eden Park, Auckland (Saturday, June 11)

Chiefs v Wales, FMG Stadium, Waikato (Tuesday, June 14)

New Zealand v Wales, Westpac Stadium, Wellington (Saturday, June 18)

New Zealand v Wales, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (Saturday, June 25)

Autumn Series 2016 :

Wales v Australia, Principality Stadium (Saturday, November 5)

Wales v Argentina, Principality Stadium (Saturday, November 12)

Wales v TBC, Principality Stadium (Saturday, November 19)

Wales v South Africa, Principality Stadium (Saturday, November 26)