Nations Championship: All the kick off times this Saturday
· The South African
Test rugby is back in a big way, and the newly-formed Nations Championship kicked off last weekend in fine fashion as a series of high-quality matches played out.
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In some of the standout highlights, the All Blacks edged France in a thriller, Ireland held on for a narrow win over Australia, while the Springboks secured a resounding win over England.
There’s plenty more to look forward to this weekend as the Nations Championship heads into round two, which includes the Springboks hosting Scotland, New Zealand tackling Italy, Australia facing France, Japan taking on Ireland, Fiji looking to upset England and Argentina finishing things off with a clash against Wales.
Nations Championship Round 2 kick off times on Saturday
MatchesKick off time (SA time)VenueNew Zealand vs. Italy07:10Sky Stadium, WellingonAustralia vs. France09:40Suncorp Stadium, BrisbaneJapan vs. Ireland12:10McDonald Jones Stadium, NewcastleFiji vs. England15:10Hill Dickinson Stadium, LiverpoolSouth Africa vs. Scotland17:40Loftus Versfeld, PretoriaArgentina vs. Wales21:10Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario, San JuanAll eyes on Springboks
From a South African perspective, after the Springboks started their 2026 Test season with a big win over England, there will be plenty of attention on how a new-look team fares against Scotland.
The only five players retained in the starting XV that defeated England 45-21 last weekend are Jesse Kriel, Damian Willemse, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Paul de Villiers, and Ruan Nortje.
“All of the players have been working extremely hard at training, and they are fully aware of the threat Scotland poses. Many of these combinations have played together for the Springboks and for their provincial teams this season,” Erasmus commented.
“Many of the players will also be playing at their home ground at Loftus Versfeld, so they know the field and conditions well.”
On what they expected from Scotland, Erasmus said: “They are a quality team, who will test us in all areas of the game, and they are well coached, so they will throw everything they have at us.
“Matches against them are always tough, and looking back, there have been some very close encounters between the sides in the past, so we need to be switched on from the first whistle, be accurate in all departments of the game, and use our opportunities if we want to get the desired result.”
The match kicks off at 17:40 and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.