Springbok Women to open RWC campaign against Brazil

The Springbok Women will play Brazil in their opening match of the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England, facing their Pool D opponents for the first time at Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton on Sunday 24 August.

South Africa will then travel north to York for their second pool match, where they will meet Italy at the York Community Stadium on 31 August, before returning to Northampton for their final pool match, against France on Sunday, 7 September, at Franklin's Gardens.

World Rugby announced the fixture list of the global showpiece on Tuesday, with hosts England opening the tournament against the USA at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, near Newcastle in the north of the country, on Friday, 22 August 2025.

The defending champions, New Zealand, will begin their campaign against Spain at York Community Stadium two days later, on the same day that South Africa will face Brazil.

Springbok Women High performance coach Swys de Bruin said the planning for the campaign has started and although some details of warm-up matches and tours are still being finalised, it is good to know exactly what is coming their way during the Rugby World Cup.

“Brazil will be a fresh challenge, as we have not played them at all, while we have clearer and more recent pictures of Italy and France, so we know we will have to prepare well,” said De Bruin.

“It is also nice to be able to play two matches at Franklin’s Gardens, a proud English rugby venue, and we are looking forward to the York visit as well. All in all, with regards to the draw and schedule, it is really a satisfactory outcome for us and the challenge will be to use that to our advantage.

“We certainly hope for good support from South Africans residing in the UK to come out and enjoy the journey with us. We are determined to come back home next year with our best RWC result ever.”

Springbok Women RWC 2025 Pool D fixtures:

South Africa v Brazil

Date: Sunday 24 August

Venue: Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton

Kick-off: 14h45 (15h45 SA time)

Italy v South Africa

Date: Sunday 31 August

Venue: York Community Stadium, York

Kick-off: 15h30 (16h30 SA time)

France v South Africa

Date: Sunday 7 September

Venue: Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton

Kick-off: 16h45 (17h45 SA time)

The match schedule has been developed with team and fan experience at heart, with exciting matchups in each of the eight host locations, family friendly kick-off times and optimised team travel.

Six double header fixtures will take place during the pool stages, generating a festival atmosphere in the host locations and creating a day-out for families and local communities.

Aligned with World Rugby standards, each team will also benefit from a minimum of six rest days between pool matches enabling the world’s top teams to prepare and perform at their best.