Jacques van der Westhuyzen

By Jacques van der Westhuyzen

Head of Sport


Rugby Champs kick-off times confirmed: Boks get afternoon game in Brisbane

Bok fans will also have to stay up late for the away match against Argentina in Santiago in late September.


The World Cup winners from 2023, the Springboks, will play a rare afternoon game in Australia when they take on the Wallabies in their opening match of the 2024 Rugby Championship later this year.

This was confirmed by Sanzaar on Tuesday when the fixtures and kick-off times for the competition were finalised.

The Rugby Championship reverts to its 12-match schedule this year after a shortened version of the competition was in place last year because of the Rugby World Cup.

The Boks play Australia in two matches Down Under, in Brisbane and Perth, before returning home for two matches against New Zealand, in Johannesburg and Cape Town. They complete their programme with an away match against Argentina, in Santiago (with kick-off at 11pm SA time) — a new venue for the Boks — before their final match takes place in Mbombela, also against Argentina.

The Boks kick off their international season towards the end of June with a once-off match against Wales in London before returning home for the highly anticipated two-Test series against Ireland, with matches in Pretoria and Durban. This series is followed by a one-off match against Portugal in Bloemfontein.

Full Rugby Championship schedule

Round 1

Australia v South Africa

Date: Saturday, 10 August

Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Local kick-off: 2.45pm

RSA kick-off: 6:45am

New Zealand v Argentina

Date: Saturday, 10 August

Venue: SKY Stadium, Wellington

Local kick-off: 7.05pm

RSA kick-off: 9.05am

Round 2

New Zealand v Argentina

Date: Saturday, 17 August

Venue: Eden Park, Auckland

Local kick-off: 7.05pm

RSA kick-off: 9.05am

Australia v South Africa

Date: Saturday, 17 August

Venue: Optus Stadium, Perth

Local kick-off: 5.55pm

RSA kick-off: 11.55am

Round 3

South Africa v New Zealand

Date: Saturday, 31 August

Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Local kick-off: 5pm

RSA kick-off: 5pm

Argentina v Australia

Date: Saturday, 31 August

Venue: Estadio Jorge Luis Hirschi, Buenos Aires

Local kick-off: 4pm

RSA kick-off: 9pm

Round 4

South Africa v New Zealand

Date: Saturday, 7 September

Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town

Local kick-off: 5pm

RSA kick-off: 5pm

Argentina v Australia

Date: Saturday, 7 September

Venue: Brigadier Estanislao Lopez Stadium, Santa Fe

Local kick-off: 4pm

RSA kick-off: 9pm

Round 5

Australia v New Zealand

Date: Saturday, 21 September

Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney

Local kick-off: 3.55pm

RSA kick-off: 7.55am

Argentina v South Africa

Date: Saturday, 21 September

Venue: Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, Santiago

Local kick-off: 6pm

RSA kick-off: 11pm

Round 6

New Zealand v Australia

Date: Saturday, 28 September

Venue: SKY Stadium, Wellington

Local kick-off: 7.05pm

RSA kick-off: 9.05am

South Africa v Argentina

Date: Saturday, 28 September

Venue: Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit

Local kick-off: 5pm

RSA kick-off: 5pm

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