The Springboks first opponents as World Champions revealed?

The Springboks are Rugby’s world champions once more and their first opponents as kings of rugby have been revealed.

Due to the timing of the Rugby World Cup in France, the November international window has been scrapped for this term.

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WHEN WILL THE SPRINGBOKS PLAY AGAIN?

That is good news for the URC teams who get all their internationals back for a busy end to the year, after a short two-week rest period.

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As a result the next time the Springboks are set to be in action is in the 2024 July international window.

The Springboks are set to welcome the only team to beat them at the Rugby World Cup, Ireland, in the July window.

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The series has been slated to be a two-match series with Ireland coming to South Africa after already competing in the 2024 Six Nations.

There is a good chance that Ireland might have returned to the World No 1 ranking by the time they visit South Africa with five Six Nations matches for them to make up ground on the Springboks.

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Irish fans can already register interest in travel packages to South Africa, despite the schedule still needing to be fixed.

SA Rugby could seek to add an extra international fixture or two in the July window, possibly against a tier-two nation like Georgia.

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If Ireland play two Tests in South Africa, the most likely venues are Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria and the Cape Town Stadium.

MOTIVATED TO STAY ON TOP

The Springboks will now be challenged to maintain their dominance between Rugby World Cups.

Skipper Siya Kolisi thanked South Africa for its support and promised more to come from the Springboks.

“As a Springbok team we wanted to give South African people hope, but those who welcomed us back at OR Tambo International Airport from France, and all along the trophy tour routes and airports, gave us hope to and inspired us to keep showing that regardless of your upbringing, race, religion and background, you can achieve anything,” said Kolisi.

“We said before the Rugby World Cup final against New Zealand that were playing for the 60 million plus people in South Africa, and the support we witnessed first-hand on the trophy tour in the last few days was breath-taking.

“It was special to see the scenes when we arrived home after the 2019 World Cup, but this welcome was something else.

“We said we wanted to help build the nation through rugby, and with tens of thousands of people from all walks of life in all four provinces running next to the bus and cheering us on, we witnessed a united nation, and we hope we can continue to see this in society as well.”

Kolisi added: “The Springboks may only return to the field next year again, but what we took from the last few days will continue to drive us as a team.

“Once again, we wish we could have visited every province and every community, but we have to return to our clubs, so it was not possible.

“We know, however, that in every province, we would have received the exact same support and passion.

“Thank you, South Africa. We love you.”