Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has requested a busy Test schedule for 2025 as he has made it clear that he wants to continue mixing and matching with his selections, while exposing some more newcomers to Test rugby.

There have already been 13 fixtures officially confirmed, while a game against Japan is expected to be added to the schedule. It would be the first time the teams have met since the 2019 World Cup quarter-final.

It’s believed that SA Rugby is still working to add one more game for the Springboks this year (for a total of 15 Tests), and apparently this could be against Portugal, who Rapport claims will be hosted by the Cheetahs, who successfully staged last year’s Test between the two teams.

This is certainly one of those games where Erasmus would be able to hand out some debuts and select an experimental side to continue expanding the squad.

“We are hoping to get the 15 matches, every single one is almost confirmed,” Erasmus confirmed at a press conference earlier this month.

“This will be a tough season for us in terms of Tests, just looking at our draw. We had a tough 2022, but now having 15 matches, I think it is only the second time in history that we have it. I think 2007 had 17 matches. It will be the first one in a long time, but we need them.”

SPRINGBOKS’ 2025 TEST SCHEDULE:

TBC: vs Barbarians, TBC, TBC
5 July: vs Italy, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
12 July: vs Italy, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha
19 July: vs Georgia, Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
16 August: vs Australia, Ellis Park, Johannesburg
23 August: vs Australia, DHL Stadium, Cape Town
6 September: vs New Zealand, Auckland
13 September: vs New Zealand, Wellington
27 September: vs Argentina, Kings Park, Durban
4 October: vs Argentina, London
1 November: vs Wales, Cardiff
8 November: vs France, Paris
15 November: vs Italy, Turin
22 November: vs Ireland, Dublin
*SA Rugby are working on adding two more Tests for the Springboks, likely to be against Japan and Portugal

REMINDER: By the numbers in 2024

#1 on the World Rugby Rankings
13 Tests Played
11 Tests won
2 Tests lost
57 tries scored
23 tries conceded (three clean-sheets, against Australia, New Zealand and Scotland)
450 points scored
220 points conceded
50 players used
4 captains (Kolisi, Moerat, Du Toit and Etzebeth)
3 World Rugby Player of the Year nominations (Du Toit, Etzebeth and Kolbe)
12 new caps

New caps:
Jordan Hendrikse
Edwill vd Merwe
Ben-Jason Dixon
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Johan Grobbelaar
Phepsi Buthelezi
Morne van den Berg
Andre-Hugo Venter
Ruan Venter
Quan Horn
Cameron Hanekom

WHICH SA FIXTURES ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS YEAR?

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Src: TheSouthAfrican.com - https://rugga.co.za/springboks/springboks-a-step-closer-to-finalising-2025-test-schedule/