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Cape Town - The Springboks will head to Bloemfontein for the first time since 2010 and New Zealand will be in action at Newlands in Cape Town as SA Rugby confirmed the home venues for the Rugby Championship on Friday.
The Springboks will play the Pumas in Port Elizabeth, the Wallabies in Bloemfontein and the All Blacks in Cape Town.
There had been a delay in the announcement of the venues due to the fact that Newlands was struggling to fulfil the requirements of the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Act which came into effect in March this year.
The first match of the Rugby Championship will take place on Saturday, August 19 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, when Argentina clash with the Boks.
The following week, the Springboks will be in action in Argentina against Los Pumas (Saturday, August 26, in Salta), whereafter it’s the first bye weekend.
The Boks’ traditional tour to Australasia is in early September for matches against the Wallabies (Saturday, September 9, NIB Stadium in Perth) and All Blacks (Saturday, September 16, QBE Stadium in Albany).
Although the Springboks have played in Perth before, they have never been in action at NIB Stadium, home ground of the Western Force.
The match in Albany will be the South Africans’ third visit to QBE Stadium after they played two matches in the 2011 Rugby World Cup - against Samoa and Namibia - at this stadium, which is used as secondary home base by the Blues.
A second bye weekend follows the tour before the Springboks head home for their last two encounters, on Saturday, September 30 against Australia in Bloemfontein, and Saturday, October 7 against New Zealand at Newlands.
This will be the All Blacks’ first visit to the Mother City since 2008 and the 10th time these two teams will clash in a Test in the Western Cape in 89 years, when New Zealand first played in Cape Town.
Springbok Rugby Championship fixtures:
19 August – Springboks v Argentina, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
26 August – Argentina v Springboks, Salta
9 September – Australia v Springboks, NIB Stadium, Perth
16 September – New Zealand v Springboks, QBE Stadium, Albany
30 September – Springboks v Australia, Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
7 October – Springboks v New Zealand, Newlands, Cape Town
