Tickets go on sale for the Springboks’ defence of their Castle Lager Rugby Championship crown – with two Tests against Australia in August – via Ticketmaster on Friday, 13 June at 09:00. 

A new lock pairing for Saturday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final derby clash against the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria is the only set of changes to the Hollywoodbets Sharks as they take continuity into selection for this massive local knock-out.

South African rugby’s continued investment into membership of northern hemisphere rugby competitions led to a R93m group loss in 2024, but the organisation had already wiped out that deficit with a strong start to 2025, the annual meeting of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) was told in Cape Town on Thursday.

Springbok and DHL Stormers utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu added another significant accolade to his SA Rugby Young Player of the Year award by being crowned SA’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship Player of the Season for 2024/25.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named the same 54 players – nine of whom are uncapped – that attended the second national alignment camp in Cape Town last month in a large training squad for the opening stages of the international season, which kicks off on 28 June against the Barbarians, followed by the Castle Lager Incoming Series.

South Africa’s three Vodacom United Rugby Championship quarter-finalists face their biggest task of the season this weekend as they line up against top opposition in the quarter-final of the cross-hemisphere series, where victories will be non-negotiable to advance to the semi-final stages.

Qatar Airways announced on Tuesday that the Qatar Airways Cup will be up for grabs when the Springboks take on the Barbarians in a historic clash on Saturday, 28 June at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town.

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu of the DHL Stormers and the Vodacom Bulls duo of Cameron Hanekom and Wilco Louw were rewarded for their consistent good form during the season by grabbing the three nominations for the South African Vodacom United Rugby Championship Player of the Season Award.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus expressed his excitement about the international season ahead as they wrapped up a successful second alignment camp in Cape Town on Friday afternoon. The two-day camp featured a series of boardroom sessions and an optional gym session on Friday, while a bunch of overseas-based players joined the boardroom sessions virtually. The