Ireland set to take on South Africa as tour fixtures announced

Ireland will play two Tests against the world champion Springboks in South Africa next summer.

Andy Farrell’s squad face South Africa in Pretoria on July 6 and then in Durban a week later, the South African Rugby Union has announced.

It will be Ireland’s first trip to South Africa since 2016, when they lost a three-Test series 2-1 after winning the opening encounter in Cape Town.

Since that series, Ireland have beaten the Springboks on three-successive occasions – twice in Dublin and then during the recent Rugby World Cup pool stage in Paris.

South Africa, meanwhile, will tackle Portugal for the first time on July 20 next year.

Portugal were one of the World Cup’s success stories in France, drawing with Georgia, giving Wales a stern test and ending their campaign by recording a famous 24-23 victory over Fiji.