Springbok 2013 home fixtures announced

SARU has announced the upcoming fixtures that the Springboks will play in South Africa throughout 2013.

A once-off tournament will be played in June, which will see the Springboks face off against their Pool B opponents, Scotland and Samoa, while Italy also head south to join in on the action.

Two test matches will be played at the same venue on the same day, giving fans a double-bill of international test rugby.

“We are taking the Springboks to a new venue in 2013 and have an exciting new competition format for the June Tests – by coincidence against two of our Rugby World Cup opponents of 2015. We have also been able to map out a home fixture schedule for the next three years – something the provinces had also wanted.”

The tournament – which will be played on a log basis over two rounds to determine finalists – will open at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on 8 June.

The fixtures are:

Castle Incoming Tour 2013
• Saturday, June 8 (Mbombela Stadium): Scotland v Samoa; Springboks v Italy
• Saturday, June 15 (Mr Price Kings Park): Samoa v Italy; Springboks v Scotland
• Saturday, June 22 (Loftus Versfeld): Team 3 v Team 4 ; Team 1 v Team 2

The Castle Rugby Championship 2013
• Saturday, August 17 (Free State Stadium): Springboks v Argentina
• Saturday, September 28 (Newlands): Springboks v Australia
• Saturday, October 5 (Coca-Cola Park): Springboks v New Zealand