Springboks confirm Rugby World Cup warm-up match against Wales

The Springboks have confirmed a warm-up fixture against Wales ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup.

The Boks will tackle the Dragons at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on Saturday, 19 August 2023.

South Africa will start the defence of their World Cup title against Scotland in Marseille on Sunday, 10 September 2023. Their other Pool B opponents are Romania (17 September, Bordeaux), Ireland (23 September, Paris) and Tonga (1 October, Marseille).

The Boks beat Wales 2-1 in a home series earlier this year, but have found the going tough against them in recent years.

Apart from a 23-18 win in Cardiff last year, and a 19-16 World Cup semi-final win in Yokohama in 2019, South Africa suffered four straight defeats to Wales between 2016 and 2018 (three times in Cardiff and once in Washington DC).

?? Another building block in place as the Boks prepare for @France2023 next year - more here: https://t.co/6kweUjWIGE#StrongerTogether #StrongerForever @WelshRugbyUnion pic.twitter.com/vEYvO36rL5

Bok coach Jacques Nienaber therefore believes a Test against Wales prior to the World Cup would be adequate preparation.

"Wales have always proven to be tough competition for us and our results against them in the last few years are evidence of the quality of the side they are," Nienaber said in a statement. 

"The Rugby World Cup is one of the toughest competitions in the world, and you have to be at your best every week to reach the final, so it's vital that we test ourselves against quality opposition in the lead-up to the competition.

"With Wales being in the top 10 in the world and holding a good win record against us in Cardiff in the last few seasons, we have no doubt this will be a strong character test and fantastic preparation for us going into