SA Rugby have confirmed the official day for the naming of the Springboks’ 33-man squad to defend South Africa’s Rugby World Cup title in France this year.

Speaking during an official press conference in Stellenbosch yesterday, Bok operations head Charles Wessels announced that the final group to board the plane to France will be finalised and revealed on August 8.

The Springboks will kick off a bumper 2023 season against Australia in Pretoria on July 8, in the opening round of the shortened Rugby Championship, which will be followed by clashes against New Zealand at the Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland a week later, and Argentina in Johannesburg on July 29, in their final match on home soil before the build-up to their Rugby World Cup defence starts.

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SA will launch their World Cup title defence on September 10, against Scotland in Marseille, which will be followed by pool matches against Romania in Bordeaux (September 17), Ireland in Paris (September 23) and Tonga in Marseille (October 1).