Johannesburg - The Springboks will kick-off a bumper 2023 season against Eddie Jones’ Wallabies in Pretoria in July in the shortened Rugby Championship, and will face Argentina in Johannesburg in their final match on home soil before the build-up to the Rugby World Cup.
In August, the Boks will travel to Argentina to take on the Pumas before facing Wales and the All Blacks in World Cup warm-up matches in Cardiff and London in the final build-up to the global showpiece in France, which kicks off in the second weekend in September.
The Boks kick off their season on July 8 against Australia at Loftus Versfeld before travelling to New Zealand to face the All Blacks on July 17.
They will return to South Africa to wrap up their Championship campaign against the Pumas at Emirates Airline Park on July 29.
The away match against Argentina is scheduled for August 5 before they take on Wales at the Principality Stadium on August 19, and a second Test against New Zealand at Twickenham on August 25.
The Boks launch their World Cup title defence on September 10, against Scotland in Marseille, followed by pool matches against Romania, Ireland and Tonga.
The World Cup quarter-finals will be played on the weekend of October 14/15, with the semi-finals on October 20/21 and the final on Saturday, October 28.
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“These Rugby Championship matches are going to be crucial as we look to get our World Cup season off to a good start and playing against New Zealand away and Australia and Argentina on the highveld will be ideal for our preparation,” said coach Jacques Nienaber.
Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus added that the match against the Pumas in Argentina ties in nicely with their RWC preparations: “Playing against Argentina in South America is unique as they have a very passionate home crowd that brings the best out of their team, so that environment will serve as good preparation for our team with an eye on the World Cup, especially after getting a taste of the atmosphere we can expect at the international extravaganza in our match against France in Marseille last November.”
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Nienaber said the national coaches have been hard at work with their planning: “The coaches have hit the ground running this year and we’ll continue to put in the hard yards to ensure that we leave no stone unturned before the World Cup.”
An announcement on the venues of the Tests in New Zealand and Argentina, as well as the Boks’ training camps will be made in due course.
Springbok 2023 fixtures:
Rugby Championship:
Saturday, July 8 – Springboks v Australia (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday, July 17 – Springboks v New Zealand (venue TBC)
Saturday, July 29 – Springboks v Argentina (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
RWC warm-up fixtures:
Saturday, August 5 – Springboks v Argentina (venue TBC)
Saturday, August 19 – Springboks v Wales (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Friday, August 25 – Springboks v New Zealand (Twickenham, London)
RWC pool fixtures:
Sunday, September 10 – Springboks v Scotland (Stade Velodrome, Marseille)
Sunday, September 17 – Springboks v Romania (Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Saturday, September 23 – Springboks v Ireland (Stade de France, Paris)
Sunday, October 1 – Springboks v Tonga (Stade Velodrome, Marseille)
Weekend of October 14/15 – Quarter-finals
Weekend of October 21/22 – Semi-finals
Saturday, October 28 – Final
IOL Sport