Springboks to take on Japan at Wembley in November
The Test will be the first rugby event to be held at the famous north London venue since 2016 when the Springboks and the Barbarians played out a thrilling 31-31 draw.
The Boks are no strangers to rugby in London, where their matches are normally played at Twickenham.
'We are delighted to be starting our tour of the northern hemisphere with a match against Japan at the iconic Wembley Stadium,' said Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus.
'Especially ahead of a challenging Castle Lager Outgoing Tour which kicks off a week later with the first official Test of the November window against France in Paris.
London, are you ready? The #Springboks are playing Japan at @wembleystadium in November - more here: https://t.co/9WpY8Bu7vW 🇬🇧 #ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/LRCGxCJ8xY
— Springboks (@Springboks) August 20, 2025
'The last time the Boks played at Wembley was in 2016 against the Barbarians, in a tense affair which went down to the wire in a 31-31 drawn match. The Brave Blossoms are renowned for playing fast, attacking, high-tempo rugby, which has been prevalent in our encounters before and during the Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019.
'We have had fantastic support from our fans in the UK for our fixtures in London over the past few years and I am sure the match will be no different, especially at one of the most famous sporting venues in the world.'
Japan coach Eddie Jones, who won the RWC in 2007 as a technical adviser to the Springboks, is relishing the prospect of another clash with the world champions.
'The game in Brighton 10 years ago changed rugby in Japan from being a minor sport to a boom sport,' said Jones. 'Playing against the Boks is the dream of every young Japanese player.'
Wembley Stadium has hosted 11 rugby matches over the years, starting with England's 26-13 win over Canada in 1992.
Before taking on the Japanese, the Boks will face Argentina in the final round of the Rugby Championship at Allianz Stadium (Twickenham) on October 4 where they are expecting strong support.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
8 hours ago
- IOL News
Springboks plot line-out bounce back after Wallabies' Ellis Park ambush
Springboks lock Ruan Nortje says the the Wallabies cam,e up with cunning plans at the lineout on at Ellis Park. Image: Backpagepix The line-out is normally where the magic happens for the Springboks. It's their biggest attacking platform and something they take a lot of pride in. But last Saturday at Ellis Park they were outfoxed by a cunning Wallabies team in their Rugby Championship opener. The Springboks ended the match with a 68.8% success rate in that department, losing several balls on their own throw because of the brilliant competing by the Australians. When you take away the Springboks' line-out, you take away several options in their attacking arsenal. Their much-vaunted maul is immediately nullified, while their variety of trick plays are also null and void. The strike plays when they go off the top of the lineout are also curtailed. This worked so well in that blazing 20 minutes of rugby in the first half, when centre André Esterhuizen and the loose forwards hit the line hard to gain attacking momentum. The maul is also viewed as an energy sapper for the opposition forwards. So, it wasn't surprising to see the Wallaby pack still fresh in that final quarter of the match, which in the end seemed to be the difference in the 38-22 victory. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Many of the Boks' other problems were connected to their malfunctioning line-out. Playing on the back foot saw them struggling to gain momentum at the collisions, which in turn saw them turn over the ball 17 times. So, how do the Boks right the ship ahead of their second meeting with the Wallabies in Cape Town on Saturday (5.10pm kick-off)? The man calling the shots at line-out time in the No 5 jersey this weekend, Ruan Nortje, believes that they have analysed what went wrong and have made the plans to get their biggest weapon to fire again. 'At the end of the day, we as the locks make the plan together, not just the guys who were on the field,' Nortje told the media, at the team's hotel on Wednesday. 'We know we are better than what we dished up on Saturday. But we have to credit Australia. They came with different pictures than they showed in previous matches. It may have caught us offside. 'This week has been about focusing on our plans and executing to the best of our abilities.' On their own line-out, the other thing the Wallabies did well was taking quick throw-ins – often skew – to try and get the ball in play before the Boks had a chance to contest. According to the recent law change, teams can get away with a skew throw-in if a team does not compete at line-out time. And the Wallabies did well to take the Boks' own strategy to compete away from them. 'We try to make the best plans to get front-foot ball. Australia did well this weekend to take quick line-outs to try and catch us off guard, by throwing the ball in before we can compete,' said Nortje. 'Sometimes they got away with it and other times they were blown up for a skew line-out.' Nortje will start a Test match with RG Snyman for the very first time, while veterans Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager will feature off the bench in a 6-2 split. It's a clear indication that the Boks will try and make up for the problems they faced at Ellis Park. With Etzebeth and De Jager coming off the bench, the starting pair of Snyman and Nortje are expected to 'empty the tank' in a massive physical onslaught in the shadow of Table Mountain at the DHL Stadium. 'It's my first time starting with RG, and I'm really excited to get the opportunity to play alongside him. He was at the Bulls a few years ago and I've always wanted to play with him. 'We can feed off each other a lot, and I'm personally excited about that. When you put on that jersey it's just about working hard and emptying the tank.'
IOL News
8 hours ago
- IOL News
Women's Rugby World Cup to offer players mental health support
The Rugby World Cup trophy on display at the 2021 tournament, which was hosted in New Zealand in 2022. Photo: John Cowpland/AFP Image: John Cowpland/AFP Women's Rugby World Cup chiefs have promised to offer players "mental health support" after saying female athletes are "30 percent more likely" to suffer social media abuse than their male counterparts. While the likes of tournament hosts England are a professional side who have become used to increasing scrutiny, several of the other 15 competing teams are semi-professional or amateur outfits for whom the World Cup will provide a whole new level of exposure. "Supporting athletes, having an athlete-centred approach, I think, is fundamental to everything that the competition is doing and that we are doing at World Rugby," said Sally Horrox, the global governing body's head of women's rugby. "So our performance teams have been working very closely on programmes with the unions to make sure that there is mental health support, for example, for those athletes who are away from home. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. "Some of them have families, some of them have other jobs. The game in many parts of the world is still an amateur to semi-professional game, so they will be experiencing something very, very different. "So we take our responsibilities very seriously." Tournament organisers said Tuesday they expected the September 27 final at Twickenham to feature a sell-out crowd of over 80,000 – a record for any women's rugby match. More than 375,000 tickets have been sold across all 32 matches at this World Cup, with a huge global television audience anticipated as well. "We're ready to break records in attendances, viewership and engagement," tournament director Sarah Massey said during Tuesday's launch event at Twickenham. "This is going to be the biggest global celebration of women's rugby that we have ever seen." But with that opportunity come attendant risks and World Rugby, in April, announced a collaboration with the Signify Group to use the data organisation's 'Threat Matrix' that monitors social media platforms to detect and report abusive posts and comments. "No one deserves that type of abuse in this environment," said Horrox. "And sadly, female athletes, are 30 percent more likely to experience this type of abuse than men." World Cup favourites England open the tournament against the United States in the northeast city of Sunderland on Friday, with the Americans boasting a breakout social media star in Ilona Maher, who has amassed over eight million followers. AFP
The South African
9 hours ago
- The South African
Springboks' major positional problem emerges
When it comes to the Springboks, one area where there has always been a seemingly never-ending conveyor belt of talent is at loose forward. However, in recent times, some warning lights have begun to flash. Since the 2023 World Cup, and the retirement of Duane Vermeulen, the Springboks have found the No 8 position to be somewhat problematic to fill with consistency. Yes, Jasper Wiese has emerged as a standout in this position, but ill-discipline and injuries have taken a toll, and it's an area where depth – and a like-for-like replacement for Vermeulen – has been hard to come by. At blindside flank, the Springboks have had the world-class Pieter-Steph du Toit to rely on, but again, the lack of true quality back up has been evidenced by someone like Franco Mostert having to again fill in on the side of the scrum. Similarly, Siya Kolisi is the understandable custodian of the No 6 jersey – but in his absence – it's still not crystal clear as to who the next best would be. As if to evidence this point, the Springboks will line up for this Saturday's must-win match against the Wallasbies with a back row combination that would have been virtually unfathomable just a few weeks ago: 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Marco van Staden. Yes, the Springboks have been unfortunate with injuries to talented youngsters Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom, but when it comes to the back row balance and depth, it's increasingly evident that this is a worrisome area just two years away from the next World Cup. The goal of Rassie Erasmus and the coaches is to have two players of almost equal interchangeable quality in every position, but it's in the loose trio where this is proving to be increasingly difficult to find after the retirement of Vermeulen, and as Du Toit and Kolisi head towards their mid-30s. South Africa: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 RG Snyman,3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Lood de Jager, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
