What time is kick off for Springboks v England?
· The South African
The time has arrived for the Springboks to kick off a new international campaign, and a blockbuster 2026 season gets underway with a highly-anticipated clash against England this Saturday.
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After a couple of days off to spend time with family and friends, the Springbok squad reassembled at their training base in Johannesburg on Sunday to begin their official Test-week preparations.
The Test against England will kick off at 17:40 on Saturday, 4 July, and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
“England are a quality outfit, and they will present a completely different challenge to that which we faced against the Barbarians,” Rassie Erasmus commented. “They are a settled squad and come off a Six Nations campaign, but we are pleased that we had the opportunity to give our players invaluable game time before the Nations Championship begins.
“The team is aligned on the expectations and standards going into the competition, and we are pleased with the hard work they put in this week, so we are ready to get the international season into full swing.”
Springboks ready to kick off jampacked season with big opener against England
The England match will be followed by clashes against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, 11 July, and Wales at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on 18 July.
With Erasmus working with a big squad of 46 players, it is tricky to predict what the maverick Springbok coach could have up his sleeve when it comes to selection, but this is how we think the first Test team of the year could look.
SPRINGBOKS (possible): 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
full squad
Props: Thomas du Toit (Bath), Wilco Louw (Bulls), Ntuthuko Mchunu (Stormers), Ox Nche (Sharks), Zachary Porthen (Stormers), Carlu Sadie (Bordeaux Bègles), Gerhard Steenekamp (Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh).
Hookers: Johan Grobbelaar (Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Andre-Hugo Venter (Stormers).
Locks: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Eben Etzebeth (Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Bulls), Ruben van Heerden (Stormers).
Loose forwards: Paul de Villiers (Stormers), Ben-Jason Dixon (Stormers), Cameron Hanekom (Bulls), Siya Kolisi (Sharks), Evan Roos (Stormers), Vincent Tshituka (Sharks), Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks).
Utility forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Riley Norton (Stormers), Marco van Staden (Bulls), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Bulls), Cobus Wiese (Bulls).
Scrumhalves: Embrose Papier (Bulls), Herschel Jantjies (Bayonne), Cobus Reinach (Stormers), Grant Williams (Sharks).
Flyhalves: Manie Libbok (Kintetsu Liners), Vusi Moyo (Sharks), Handre Pollard (Bulls).
Centres: Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Andre Esterhuizen (Sharks), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles).
Outside and utility backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls), Aphelele Fassi (Sharks), Quan Horn (Lions), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Canan Moodie (Bulls), Edwill van der Merwe (Sharks), Jaco Williams (Sharks), Damian Willemse (Stormers).