Bok coaches hard at work with their planning for new season
THE Springboks will kick off a bumper 2023 season against Eddie Jones’ Wallabies in Pretoria in July in a shortened Rugby Championship and will face Argentina in Johannesburg in their final match on home soil before the build-up to the 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 on September 8.
The Boks kick-off their season on July 8 against Australia at Loftus before travelling to New Zealand to face the All Blacks on July 17.
They will return to South Africa to wrap up their Rugby Championship campaign against the Pumas at Ellis Park on July 29.
The away match against Argentina is scheduled for August 5 before they take on Wales at the Millennium 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 14/15 October, with the semi-finals on 20/21 October and the final on 28 October.
“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 World Cup 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.” 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,” Nienaber said.
2023 Springbok fixtures: Rugby Championship:
Saturday, 8 July – Springboks vs Australia (Loftus); Saturday, 17 July – Springboks vs New Zealand (venue TBC); Saturday, 29 July – Springboks vs Argentina (Eillis Park) World Cup warm-up fixtures; Saturday, 5 August – Springboks v Argentina (venue TBC); Saturday, 19 August – Springboks vs Wales (Millennium Stadium); Friday, 25 August – SA vs New Zealand (Twickenham)
World Cup pool fixtures:
Sunday, 10 September – Springboks v Scotland (Stade Velodrome); Sunday, 17 September – Springboks v Romania (Stade de Bordeaux); Saturday, 23 September – Springboks v Ireland (Stade de France); Sunday, 1 October – Springboks v Tonga (Stade Velodrome) Weekend of 14/15 October – Quarter-finals*