Confirmed: Springboks to clash with Japan at Wembley in November
The current world champion Springboks' additional Test in November — against Japan — has been confirmed.
Rassie Erasmus' team will take on Japan at the start of their November tour of Europe, at Wembley Stadium, on 1 November.
The Boks and Japan have met only three times in their history. In 2015, at the World Cup in Britain, Japan shocked the Boks 34-32 in Brighton for one of the biggest surprises in rugby history.
At the 2019 World Cup, in Japan, the Boks clashed with their hosts on two occasions, in a pre-tournament game and then in the quarter-finals, with the Boks winning 41-7 and 26-3 respectively.
The match on 1 November will kick off the Boks' European tour, which also includes Tests against France, Italy, Ireland and Wales.
The match at Wembley against Japan 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.
In recent years the Boks have faced international opposition in London, having defeated Wales 41-13 in June 2024 at Twickenham, and New Zealand by 35-7 a year earlier in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup in France, at the same venue.
The Boks will also take on Argentina, in their away Rugby Championship Test, in London at Twickenham, on 4 October.
'High-tempo rugby'
'We are delighted to be starting off our tour of the Northern Hemisphere with a match against Japan at the iconic Wembley Stadium, especially ahead of a challenging Outgoing Tour which kicks off a week later with the first official Test of the November window against France in Paris,' said Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus.
'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 last two 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 this match will be no different, especially being at one of the most famous sporting venues in the world.'
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