By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
SA Rugby announced on Thursday, that ticket sales for the inaugural Nations Championship Tests in South Africa – where the Springboks will face England, Scotland, and Wales – will go on sale on 2 April.
Springboks kick off their inaugural Nations Championship campaign with a meeting with England at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg before tackling Scotland at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria and finally Wales at Kings Park Stadium in Durban.
The back-to-back world champions will also face the Barbarians for the second time in South Africa with a clash at Gqeberha on Saturday, 20 June.
Tickets, priced from only R450 (England Test), R375 (Scotland Test) and R250 (Wales Test), will be on sale from Thursday, 2 April, only through Ticketmaster at https://springboks.tmtickets.co.za/.
Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, said: The excitement is really picking up for the Springboks’ international season with the announcement of the alignment camps and the 100-day countdown.
“We’re excited to welcome England back to South Africa for the first time since 2018, Scotland haven’t been here for 12 years and we last hosted Wales in 2022, so”
“We’ve taken notice of what people have been saying about ticket prices and we’ve changed the model to try and accommodate as many spectators as possible in the stadiums, while still fulfilling our need to fund our national teams and grow the game at all levels.”
With the competition kicking off in a little more than three months, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said the team were looking forward to the cross-hemisphere tournament – which will continue with the second leg in Europe in November – especially given the performances of the teams in the recent Six Nations series.
“This is an exciting new competition, and after witnessing the competitiveness of the Six Nations in general and some very tight contests, we have no doubt it’s going to be a thrilling new challenge for the Boks,” said Erasmus.
“England showed real grit in the Six Nations, although some of the results didn’t go their way, and they really showed what they are capable of against the eventual champions, pushing France all the way in Paris.
“Scotland also proved that they could be a real force by finishing third on the standings with three victories, and to be the only team to beat France, while also defeating England and Wales, they too will back themselves to put up a good showing in South Africa.”
“Wales showed great development in their style of play, and the fact that they finished well with a great victory against a very tough Italian team will boost their confidence when they travel to South Africa.”
Erasmus added: “All three teams will also draw inspiration from the fact that they come off a highly competitive Six Nations competition, while we will only be beginning our season by the time we face them, so we will have to hit the ground running to be as competitive as possible against them.”
The Springboks will host their second in-person and virtual alignment camps in May, which will be followed by their first official training camp of the year in June.
Springbok Nations Championship fixtures 2026:
Saturday 4 July: Springboks v England (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)
Saturday 11 July: Springboks v Scotland (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday 18 July: Springboks v Wales (Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban).