South Africa to host England in Johannesburg as Nations Championship kicks off
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FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Autumn Internationals - England v South Africa - Allianz Stadium Twickenham, London, Britain - November 16, 2024 England's Freddie Steward in action with South Africa's Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
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CAPE TOWN, Dec 5 - South Africa will begin an expansive test match programme next year with a clash in July against England at high altitude in Johannesburg as they kick off the new Nations Championship.
SA Rugby announced on Friday the venues for the opening three home games of the new-look competition, where 12 countries play a series of home and away games in July and then November.
South Africa’s first fixture will be at Ellis Park, where on England’s last visit in June 2018, the Boks came from a 21-point deficit to snatch a narrow 42-39 win. The thin air on the Highveld, where the elevation is some 1,750m, is usually taxing for visiting teams.
Next year’s clash will be on July 4, followed a week later by a second Nations Championship game against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, where South Africa have never previously hosted the Scots.
The third home game will be on July 18 against Wales at Kings Park in Durban. The Springboks beat Wales 73-0 in Cardiff last weekend at the end of an unbeaten five-match European tour.
During the November window of the Nations Championship, the Boks will be back in Europe to face Italy (weekend of November 6-8), France (weekend of November 13-15), and Ireland (November 21) to complete their fixtures against all Six Nations teams.
This will be followed by the Nations Championship finals weekend, scheduled for November 27-29 at Twickenham in London.
South Africa have already confirmed venues for three of their four tests against the touring All Blacks next year.
The first on Saturday, August 22, is at Ellis Park, with the second seven days later in Cape Town. The third on September 5 will be at Soccer City in Johannesburg, where the capacity is 94,000 and where soccer's 2010 World Cup final was played. The fourth test a week later is scheduled to be played at a neutral venue. REUTERS
