South Africa are set to face rivals New Zealand twice in the build-up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France as they prepare to defend their world title.
The Springboks and the All Blacks will play each other on July 15 in New Zealand as part of the Rugby Championship for the southern hemisphere.
They will play each other again on August 25 at Twickenham in London. This will be their last match before the World Cup starts in France on September 8.
If one team wins their group and the other comes in second, they would play each other in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.
South Africa and New Zealand have won three World Cups each, which is the most. Australia has won it twice, and England has won it once.
Two exciting Tests were played last year as part of a rivalry that began in 1921. South Africa was the host for both games. In Mbombela, they won 26-10, but in Johannesburg, they lost 35-23 because of a late collapse.
The South African Rugby Union hasn’t released a schedule for 2023, but AFP knows that the Springboks will play six Tests before going to France.
They start their Rugby Championship season at home against Australia on July 8. There will only be one round of the Rugby Championship this year because of the World Cup.
After playing New Zealand, South Africa will host Argentina on July 29 for the last round of the Championship.
On August 5, they will play the Pumas again, but this time in Buenos Aires. On August 19, they will play Wales in Cardiff and six days later, they will play New Zealand.
South Africa wanted to be the second country after New Zealand to win back-to-back World Cups. In 2022, they had a mixed season, winning eight Tests and losing five.
The win over New Zealand in Mbombela, the win over Australia in Sydney that ended a long run of losses in Australia, and the win over England in London at the end of the season were all highlights.
But an inconsistent team lost at home to Wales for the first time, and a bad performance against Australia in Adelaide meant they were lucky to lose by only eight points.
On a tour of Europe in November, the Springboks came close to beating Ireland and France, two of the favorites to win the World Cup this year.
At the World Cup, South Africa is in Pool B with Ireland, which is currently the best team, Scotland, Tonga, and Romania. The teams that finish first and second in the pool move on to the next round.
Photo by EPA/KIM LUDBROOK
