Springboks return to Twickenham for season opener against Wales

The Springboks return to Twickenham for a Test match against Wales in June, which will be the world champions' first outing since winning a record fourth World Cup title in France last year.

Twickenham gave South Africans their first sighting of the famous Nuke squad (the controversial seven-one bench split innovation by Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber) against the All Blacks in August last year, which resulted in a record 35-7 defeat over South Africa's greatest rugby rival. 

That match garnered an attendance of 80 827.

The Boks will launch their 2024 international season at Twickenham when they play Wales on Saturday, 22 June, a repeat of the 2015 World Cup quarter-final fixture against the Welsh, which the men in the green and gold won 23-19.

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This time the two teams will be playing for Qatar Airways Cup, as the Boks did against the All Blacks last year.

"We are thrilled to return to Twickenham in what will mark our first Test since the Rugby World Cup final in France," said Erasmus, who also led the Springboks the 2019 title in Japan with Nienaber.

"We have very fond memories of the RWC warm-up Test we played against the All Blacks at Twickenham last year. The atmosphere and occasion were truly remarkable, and we are expecting a very similar experience in June. 

"Playing against Wales, who we have faced there before in an exhilarating 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-final, will bring back plenty of other memories as well. 

"We may be playing on foreign territory, but we enjoy fantastic support from the expat community in London and its surrounds, as we saw last year where most of the supporters donned green and gold, so