The Springboks kick off their 2015 IRB Rugby World Cup campaign in England on 19 September against the top Asian qualifier at the Brighton Community Stadium at 10pm. Good news for South African fans is that three of the team's four round-robin matches will begin at 7pm and only one at 10pm.
The match at Brighton will be followed by clashes against Samoa at Villa Park in Birmingham on 26 September, Scotland at St James' Park in Newcastle on 3 October, and an Americas qualifier at the Olympic Stadium in London on 7 October, all of them at 7pm.
Should the team advance to the final stages of the international spectacle and top the Pool, they will be treated to further 7pm kick-offs, as their quarterfinal and semifinal, as well as the Rugby World Cup final will also kick off at that time. These match times formed part of a uniform spread of four kick-off times for the pool stages, which are 2pm, 4.30pm, 7pm and 10pm.
Consistency in times
"We are pleased with the times of our matches, as we are used to playing at that time in South Africa both at international and provincial level," Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said. "The fact that we will have consistency in the times of our matches after our opening game will also ensure that we are able to adopt a structured approach to our training, rather than having to adapt our preparations throughout the tournament. This will certainly simplify matters ahead of what will be the biggest test for us a team since the 2011 Rugby World Cup."
England 2015 in conjunction with the IRB also released the ticket prices and their ticketing structure on Wednesday with 2.3-million tickets set to be made available across the 48 matches. More than a million tickets will be sold at £100 or less (approximately R1,633 at the current exchange rate) with 500,000 tickets to be sold at £50 or less (approximately R816), while the cheapest adult tickets will start at £15 (R245).
Children's tickets will also be available for 41 of the 48 matches from £7 (R114). South African fans will be able to secure tickets and travel packages through SA Rugby Travel when sales open in the New Year.
Springbok's schedule
The Springboks' Pool B schedule is:
Saturday, 19 September, 10pm: v Asia 1 - Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton
Saturday, 26 September, 7pm: v Samoa - Villa Park, Birmingham
Saturday, 3 October, 7pm: v Scotland - St James Park, Newcastle
Wednesday, 7 October, 7pm: v Americas 2 - Olympic Stadium, London
Quarter Finals:
QF1: Saturday, 17 October, 4pm - W Pool C vs RU Pool D - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
QF2: Saturday, 17 October, 7pm - W Pool B vs RU Pool A - Twickenham, London
QF3: Sunday, 18 October, 4pm - W Pool D vs RU Pool C - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
QF4: Sunday, 18 October, 7pm - W Pool A vs RU Pool B - Twickenham, London
Semifinals:
Saturday, 24 October, 7pm - W QF1 vs W QF2 - Twickenham, London
Sunday, 25 October, 7pm - W QF3 vs W QF4 - Twickenham, London
Bronze final:
Friday, 30 October, 10pm - Olympic Stadium, London
Final:
Saturday, 31 October, 7pm - Twickenham, London
* All South African time
