Bloemfontein to host first ever Test between Boks and Portugal

The Springboks will be back playing Test rugby in Bloemfontein this year, for the first time since 2022’s Test against Wales, which they lost 13-12.

And it will be something of an historic event with the world champions taking on Portugal for the first time in the Test arena.

The match will take place on Saturday, July 20, following the two Test series against Ireland. Those Tests will be staged at Loftus Versfeld and King’s Park.

Portugal may not be a rugby powerhouse like the back-to-back world champion Boks, but they did beat Fiji at the 2023 World Cup in France.

The announcement of the Portugal match was made on Friday when SA Rugby released the full home fixture list for the July and Rugby Championship matches.

Following the Ireland Tests and one-off match against Portugal, the Boks will turn their attention to the Rugby Championship.

The Rassie Erasmus-coached team will face New Zealand in the Rugby Championship in Tests in Johannesburg and Cape Town on August 31 and September 7 respectively, before lining up against Argentina in Nelspruit on Saturday September 28.

‘Delighted’

“We are delighted that we will be returning to Bloemfontein for this historic match, and we are determined to continue make our passionate supporters proud,” said Erasmus.

“With the venue now confirmed we can go full steam ahead with our planning for the home Tests from an operational perspective.

“There’s no doubt it has added to the excitement for the season ahead, especially after capping off the 2023 season by defending the Rugby World Cup title.”

Ticketing details for all six Test are being finalised and will be announced soon, but supporters are warned to only buy from official outlets.

Springboks’ home Test schedule for 2024:

Saturday, 6 July: SA v Ireland (Pretoria)
Saturday, 13 July: SA v Ireland (Durban)
Saturday, 20 July: SA v Portugal (Bloemfontein)
Saturday, 31 August: SA v New Zealand (Johannesburg)
Saturday, 7 September: SA v New Zealand (Cape Town)
Saturday, 28 September: SA v Argentina (Nelspruit)