The Springboks will take on Japan at the iconic Wembley Stadium in England on Saturday.
Let’s take a look at what time they will be in action. As well as who will call the action down the middle.
KICK-OFF TIME FOR SPRINGBOKS VS JAPAN
The Springboks v Japan match will kick off at 18:10 (SA Time).
Meaning, it is an early evening kick off in South Africa.
This is the Springboks‘ first match since they defeated Argentina 29-27 in Durban en route to successfully defending their Rugby Championship crown. So, Rassie Erasmus and the Boks will be striving for a strong start to their tour against Japan.
REFEREE AND MATCH OFFICIALS CONFIRMED
Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Leal (RFU)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
FRPO: Tual Trainini (FFR)
Irish referee, Cross will blow proceedings down the middle.
He will be assisted by O’Keefe (NZ) and Leal from England. Meanwhile, Adamson from Scotland is on TMO. So, he will be assisted by Trainini from France on technical duty.
BOKS SEEKING STRONG START AT WEMBLEY
The Springboks went unbeaten during their last end of year tour.
This will certainly be the goal yet again for Erasmus and the Boks. However, they face a far tougher tour than last season with huge Test matches against the likes of France (8 November 2025) and Ireland (22 November) standing out.
Both sides have a bone to pick with South Africa. Remember, the Springboks broke French hearts when they knocked the French out of the Rugby World Cup on home soil in 2023. This is the first chance for French redemption after their dreams were slashed by the Boks.
Then, two weeks later the Boks and Ireland will continue what has been one of the biggest rivalry in world rugby for several years now. They drew the incoming tour on SA soil last year and have not faced each other since then.
The Boks also face Italy (15 November) before closing off their end of year tour against Wales on the 29 November.
TEAMS
South Africa: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 Andre Esterhuizen, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok
Japan: 15 Yoshitaka Yazaki, 14 Kippei Ishida, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Charlie Lawrence, 11 Tomoki Osada, 10 Lee Seung-sin, 9 Shinobu Fujiwara, 8 Michael Leitch, 7 Kanji Shimokawa, 6 Ben Gunter, 5 Warner Dearns, 4 Jack Cornelsen, 3 Shuhei Takeuchi, 2 Kenji Sato, 1 Kenta Kobayashi.
Replacements: 16 Shodai Hirao, 17 Ryosuke Iwaihara, 18 Keijiro Tamefusa, 19 Tyler Paul, 20 Faulua Makisi, 21 Kenta Fukuda, 22 Sam Greene, 23 Tiennan Costley.
