All we know about South Africa rugby fixtures in 2026 for the men and women's teams, including the Nations Championship, Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry and WXV.
So far, South Africa’s rugby fixtures in 2026 have delivered mostly positive results.
Picking up where they left off after last season’s Rugby Championship win and a clean sweep in the Quilter Nations Series, Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks made it three from three in the Nations Championship, and beat the Pumas in Buenos Aires.
Next up they face four Tests against the All Blacks, as the Rugby Championship makes way for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour. Then they have a game against Australia before heading to Europe for the northern hemisphere leg of the Nations Championship, as the countdown to the Springboks attempt to win an unprecedented third consecutive Men’s Rugby World Cup begins in earnest.
- Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks will play four Tests against the All Blacks in August and September, the blockbuster finale to the ongoing Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour.
- The Springbok Women follow up Test series in the US and Fiji with four matches in the WXV Global Series, against Wales, Italy and Ireland (twice).
- The Springboks kick off their World Cup title defence against Italy on 3 October 2027.
The Springbok Women came into 2026 on the back of a successful Rugby World Cup campaign in which they reached the quarter-finals for the first time. They’ve since drawn a two-Test series against the US, and beaten Fiji in the first of a two-Test series in the south Pacific. They then take on the Black Ferns as part of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour, before diving into four matches in the WXV Global Series.
You can see other teams’ schedules in our guides to upcoming England, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales fixtures. For other international and club sides, check out our detailed round-up of rugby fixtures around the world.
Dates and times are liable to change.
South Africa rugby fixtures: Springboks
Pieter-Steph du Toit is one of the many Springboks legends Rassie Erasmus can call on in this year’s South Africa rugby fixtures (Steve Haag/Nations Championship via Getty Images)
Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour
Read more: How to watch Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry
Saturday 22 August 2026
- South Africa v New Zealand FIRST TEST
Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 4.10pm BST / 5.10pm CET / 5.10pm SAST (local) / 1.10am AEST (Sunday) / 3.10am NZST (Sunday) / 11.10am EDT / 8.10am PDT
Saturday 29 August 2026
- South Africa v New Zealand SECOND TEST
DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 4.10pm BST / 5.10pm CET / 5.10pm SAST (local) / 1.10am AEST (Sunday) / 3.10am NZST (Sunday) / 11.10am EDT / 8.10am PDT
Saturday 5 September 2026
- South Africa v New Zealand THIRD TEST
FNB Stadium, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 4.10pm BST / 5.10pm CET / 5.10pm SAST (local) / 1.10am AEST (Sunday) / 3.10am NZST (Sunday) / 11.10am EDT / 8.10am PDT
Saturday 12 September 2026
- South Africa v New Zealand FOURTH TEST
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, United States
Kick-off: 10.00pm BST / 11.00pm CET / 11.00pm SAST / 7.00am AEST (Sunday) / 9.00am NZST (Sunday) / 5.00pm EDT (local) / 2.00pm PDT
Read more: Our 12 top Springboks players of all time
Test match
Sunday 27 September 2026
- Australia v South Africa
Optus Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 10.30am BST / 11.30am CET / 11.30am SAST / 5.30pm AWST (local) / 7.30pm AEST / 9.30pm NZST / 5.30am EDT / 2.30am PDT
Nations Championship 2026
Saturday 7 November 2026
- Italy v South Africa
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Turin
Kick-off: 11.40am GMT / 12.40pm CET / 1.40pm SAST / 10.40pm AEDT / 12.40am NZDT (Sunday) / 6.40am ET / 3.40am PT
Friday 13 November 2026
- France v South Africa
Stade de France, Paris
Kick-off: 8.10pm GMT / 9.10pm CET / 10.10pm SAST / 7.10am AEDT (Saturday) / 9.10am NZDT (Saturday) / 3.10pm ET / 12.10pm PT
Saturday 21 November 2026
- Ireland v South Africa
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 4.40pm GMT / 5.40pm CET / 6.40pm SAST / 3.40am AEDT (Sunday) / 5.40am NZDT (Sunday) / 11.40am ET / 8.40am PT
Friday 27 – Sunday 29 November 2026
- Nations Championship Grand Finals Weekend (fixtures TBC)
Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027
Sunday 3 October 2027
- South Africa v Italy
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide/Tarntanya
Kick-off: 4.45am BST / 5.45am CET / 5.45am SAST / 2.45pm AEDT / 4.45pm NZDT / 11.45pm ET (Saturday) / 8.45pm PT (Saturday)
Sunday 10 October 2027
- South Africa v Georgia
Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane/Meeanjin
Kick-off: 7.45am BST / 8.45am CET / 8.45am SAST / 5.45pm AEDT / 7.45pm NZDT / 2.45am ET / 11.45pm PT (Saturday)
Sunday 17 October 2027
- New Zealand v Hong Kong China
Docklands Stadium, Melbourne/Narrm
Kick-off: 12.15pm BST / 1.15pm CET / 1.15pm SAST / 10.15pm AEDT / 12.15am NZDT (Monday) / 7.15am ET / 2.15am PT
Knockout stages TBC
South Africa rugby fixtures: Springbok Women
Can the Springbok Women get revenge for last year’s Women’s Rugby Cup quarter-final defeat to the Black Ferns in September? (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Test series
Saturday 15 August 2026
- Fiji v South Africa
Churchill Park, Laukota
Kick-off: 2.00am BST / 3.00am CET / 3.00am SAST / 11.00am AEST / 1.00pm NZST (local) / 9.00pm EDT (Friday) / 6.00pm PDT (Friday)
Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry
Saturday 5 September 2026
- South Africa v Black Ferns
FNB Stadium, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 12.30pm BST / 1.30pm CET / 1.30pm SAST (local) / 9.30pm AEST / 11.30pm NZST / 7.30am EDT / 4.30am PDT
WXV Global Series
Friday 18 September 2026
- Wales v South Africa
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Kick-off: 7.15pm BST (local) / 8.15pm CET / 8.15pm SAST / 4.15am AEST (Saturday) / 6.15am NZST (Saturday) / 2.15pm EDT / 11.15am PDT
Saturday 26 September 2026
- Italy v South Africa
Stadio Omero Tognon, Pordenone
Kick-off: 1.30pm BST / 2.30pm CET (local) / 2.30pm SAST / 10.30pm AEST / 12.30am NZST (Sunday) / 8.30am EDT / 5.30am PDT
Saturday 24 October 2026
- South Africa v Ireland
Athlone Sports Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-0ff: 2.00pm BST / 3.00pm CET / 3.00pm SAST (local) / 12.00am AEDT (Sunday) / 2.00am NZDT (Sunday) / 9.00am EDT / 6.00am PDT
Saturday 31 October 2026
- South Africa v Ireland
Athlone Sports Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 1.00pm GMT / 2.00pm CET / 3.00pm SAST (local) / 12.00am AEDT (Sunday) / 2.00am NZDT (Sunday) / 9.00am EDT / 6.00am PDT