Wales will host southern-hemisphere powerhouses New Zealand, Australia and South Africa as part of their four-Test autumn international programme, Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Martyn Phillips has said.
Warren Gatland, who will resume his duties as Wales head coach after leading the British and Irish Lions on a tour of New Zealand in June and July, will also put his side up against Georgia during the series, which will be played at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
So the Springboks will have an extra week of rugby at the end of yet another marathon season, as they will also face Ireland, France and Italy in November.
They will have to ensure they don’t suffer the same fate as last November, when they crashed to only their second-ever defeat to the Welsh 27-13.
Coach Allister Coetzee was unable to pick any overseas-based players as the game was outside of the Test window, and that will be the case again this December.
But with the 30-cap rule in place, the Boks will have mainly locally-based players in the team during the 2017 season, and will hope to have a better year than last season, when they lost eight out of 12 Tests.