The Springboks have seen their buffer at the summit of the world rugby rankings increase to nearly four points this past weekend.
There was a lively discussion before this past weekend’s Six Nations action over whether Ireland or the Springboks should be considered the finest team in the world.
To be fair, the top Test sides are not likely to be moved by the rankings, but fans still find it fascinating to watch.
However, as it turned out, Ireland’s world ranking shrank to little less than a point between them and third-place New Zealand when they suffered an unexpected loss to England on Saturday.
Ireland and the Springboks are now separated by 3.85 ranking points, even though they are not currently playing.
SPRINGBOKS WILL SOON BE BACK IN ACTION
The back-to-back Rugby World Cup champions will return to the field for the first time since lifting Webb Ellis Cup in France last year on Saturday 22 June against Wales at Twickenham before hosting Ireland and Portugal in the Incoming Series in July.
The Boks will play Ireland in back-to-back Tests in Pretoria and Durban on 6 and 13 July, before lining up against Portugal in their historic first Test in Bloemfontein on Saturday 20 July.
Their next task will be the Rugby Championship in August and September where they will face the Wallabies on successive weekends in Australia before hosting arch-rivals New Zealand in South Africa in Johannesburg and Cape Town, which will be followed by a short trip to Argentina before they wrap up the competition in Nelspruit against the Pumas.
MORE TEAM CAMPS TO COME
The next two alignment camps will be hosted between 1 and 3 May, and 22 to 24 May respectively, with the venues set to be announced in due course.
CONFIRMED SA FIXTURES FOR 2024:
Saturday, 22 June: SA vs Wales (Twickenham, London)
Saturday, 6 July: SA vs Ireland (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday, 13 July: SA vs Ireland (Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban)
Saturday, 20 July: SA vs Portugal (Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein)
Saturday, 10 August: Australia vs SA (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
Saturday, 17 August: Australia vs SA (Optus Stadium, Perth)
Saturday, 31 August: SA vs New Zealand (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
Saturday, 7 September: SA v New Zealand (DHL Stadium, Cape Town)
Saturday, 21 September: Argentina v SA (venue TBC)
Saturday, 28 September: SA v Argentina (Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit)
16/17 November: England v SA (Twickenham, London – date TBC)
