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Jozi rugby fans are in for a treat this year.
Johannesburg has been selected as one of the host cities for a historic two-Test series between the Springbok Women and the USA Eagles. The announcement was made by SuperSport Rugby on Wednesday.
The matches are scheduled to take place in July and will form part of double-headers when the Springboks host England in Johannesburg and Scotland in Pretoria.
"BREAKING:The Springbok Women will host USA in a historic two-Test series in July in Johannesburg and Pretoria 🇿🇦🇺🇸. The two matches will form part of double-headers when the Boks host England in Johannesburg and Scotland in Pretoria,” SuperSport Rugby announced on Instagram.
The first match will be played on 4 July at Ellis Park, while the second will take place in Pretoria at Loftus Versfeld on 11 July.
This marks the first time the Springbok Women and USA Eagles will face each other in Tests hosted in South Africa.
The announcement follows another major announcement in December - the Springbok Women will take on the Black Ferns of New Zealand as part of a double-header at the third Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Test at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on 4 September.
Springbok Women head coach Swys de Bruin said the Tests form part of the team’s build-up towards the next Women’s Rugby World Cup.
“Not only will we play two double-headers with the Springboks, which is already massive for us, but it falls in line with our objective to play as many top-ten teams as possible in the new World Cup cycle,” De Bruin said in a statement posted on SA Rugby.
“Our ambitions for the next Women’s Rugby World Cup in Australia are well documented, and these two Tests will be a brilliant start towards that goal. The USA play in the Pacific Four Series every year, exposing them to the high-intensity rugby of opponents Canada, New Zealand and Australia - a luxury we did not have in previous years. But thanks to World Rugby’s new format of the top 12 ranked sides playing each other, and SA Rugby’s commitment to make these matches happen, these objectives can now become a reality," De Bruin added.
USA Eagles Women General Manager of High Performance Tamara Sheppard said the tour would provide valuable growth opportunities for her squad.
“Touring South Africa is a great opportunity for us to keep growing and developing against a Rugby World Cup quarter-final team. We’re excited to embrace the challenge of playing in front of some of the most passionate rugby fans in the world, and it will be an incredible experience for this developing Eagles group to test ourselves across the two Test matches,” said Sheppard.
See the announcement about the two-Test series below:
View this post on Instagram
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