Springboks to tackle All Blacks at Twickenham in Rugby World Cup warm-up

The Springboks will play a warm-up game against the All Blacks prior to next year's Rugby World Cup.

The match will take place at Twickenham on Friday, 25 August 2023.

It will be the second time in history that the Springboks and All Blacks meet at the iconic London venue, having also met there in a 2015 Rugby World Cup semi-final which New Zealand edged 20-18.

As was confirmed earlier this month, the Boks will also face Wales in a warm-up game in Cardiff on Saturday, 19 August 2023.

At the World Cup in France, the Boks will contest Pool B alongside Scotland (10 September in Marseille), Romania (17 September in Bordeaux), Ireland (23 September in Paris) and Tonga (1 October in Marseille).

"The Springboks and All Blacks share one of the greatest rivalries in rugby, and to face them at Twickenham will be an exciting experience for the players and our fans," Rassie Erasmus, SA Rugby's director of rugby, said in a statement.

"The match will take place shortly before we kick off our World Cup campaign, and both this encounter and the Test against Wales will be vital for us to measure ourselves before the competition and to put the final building in blocks in place so that we can enter the showpiece in the desired form." 

Bok coach Jacques Nienaber added: "We are excited to play this vital fixture against one of our main arch-rivals before the Rugby World Cup at the iconic Twickenham Stadium. There is a large contingent of passionate expats and Springbok supporters in London, and we have no doubt they will come out and support us in what we know will be a massive occasion for both teams before the World Cup." 

All Blacks coach Ian Foster said the match will form an important part of their World Cup preparations. 

"Matches against the