A pre-Rugby World Cup matchup between the Springboks and Wales has been confirmed.
On Saturday, August 19, 2023, the Boks will play the Dragons in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
On Sunday, September 10, 2023, South Africa will face Scotland in Marseille to begin defending their World Cup championship. Romania (17 September, Bordeaux), Ireland (23 September, Paris), and Tonga are their further Pool B rivals (1 October, Marseille).
Wales was a difficult opponent for the Boks in previous years, despite a 2-1 victory against them earlier this year in a home series.
South Africa lost four successive games versus Wales between 2016 and 2018, with the exceptions of a 23-18 victory in Cardiff last year and a 19-16 victory in the World Cup semifinals in Yokohama in 2019.
Therefore, according to Bok coach Jacques Nienaber, a test against Wales before the World Cup would be sufficient practice.
“Wales have always proven to be tough competition for us and our results against them in the last few years are evidence of the quality of the side they are,” Nienaber said in a statement.
“The Rugby World Cup is one of the toughest competitions in the world, and you have to be at your best every week to reach the final, so it’s vital that we test ourselves against quality opposition in the lead-up to the competition.
“With Wales being in the top 10 in the world and holding a good win record against us in Cardiff in the last few seasons, we have no doubt this will be a strong character test and fantastic preparation for us going into the World Cup.”
???? Another building block in place as the Boks prepare for @France2023 next year – more here: https://t.co/6kweUjWIGE#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever @WelshRugbyUnion pic.twitter.com/vEYvO36rL5
— Springboks (@Springboks) October 3, 2022
