Every match from the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa will be exclusively live on Sky Sports; fans who don't have Sky will be able to catch all the action via streaming service NOW TV, which offers day and month passes
Tuesday 22 June 2021 14:47, UK
Sky Sports will show the Springboks' two warm-up Tests against Georgia ahead of the British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa.
The Springboks - who have not taken the field as a team since beating England in the World Cup final in November 2019 - face Georgia at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on July 2, and at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on July 9.
Both games will be live on Sky Sports Action, with build-up starting at 5.30pm ahead of a 6pm kick-off.
The opening Test will be Jacques Nienaber's first time at the helm for a game since taking over as head coach from Rassie Erasmus, who stepped back from his day-to-day coaching duties to serve as South Africa's director of rugby.
Earlier this month Nienaber named a 46-man squad which is expected to stay together until the Lions' game against South Africa 'A' on July 14, after which numbers will be trimmed down ahead of the three-Test series between the Boks and Warren Gatland's tourists.
Malcolm Marx, who will be vying with fellow World Cup-winner Bongi Mbonambi for the No 2 jersey along with Scarra Ntubeni and the uncapped Joseph Dweba, says the widened squad has created some positive competition for places.
"We haven't been around each other in close to two years, so there is always a good vibe when we get together as the Boks," Marx told South African Rugby's official website.
"There's healthy competition for places in the squad. We are keeping one another on our toes and training as hard as we can week in and week out.
"There are guys ahead of you and behind you pushing for places, so we are all trying to be on top of our game all of the time."
On Tuesday Warren Gatland named his team to take on Japan in the Lions' warm-up Test on Saturday, with tour captain Alun Wyn Jones named to lead the side at Murrayfield.
Forwards: Thomas du Toit, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Frans Malherbe, Ox Nché, Trevor Nyakane, Coenie Oosthuizen, Joseph Dweba, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Scarra Ntubeni, Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, Franco Mostert, Marvin Orie, RG Snyman, Dan du Preez, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Kwagga Smith, Marco van Staden, Duane Vermeulen, Jasper Wiese, Jean-Luc du Preez, Rynhardt Elstadt.
Backs: Faf de Klerk, Herschel Jantjies, Sanele Nohamba, Cobus Reinach, Elton Jantjies, Handré Pollard, Morné Steyn, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel, Wandisile Simelane, Frans Steyn, Aphelele Fassi, Cheslin Kolbe, Willie le Roux, Makazole Mapimpi, Sbu Nkosi, Yaw Penxe, Rosko Specman, Damian Willemse.
• Saturday July 3: Emirates Lions v The British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
• Wednesday July 7: Cell C Sharks v The British & Irish Lions (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
• Saturday July 10: Vodacom Bulls v The British & Irish Lions (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
• Wednesday July 14: South Africa 'A' v The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)
• Saturday July 17: DHL Stormers v The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)
• Saturday July 24: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town)
• Saturday July 31: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (FNB Stadium, Johannesburg)
• Saturday Aug 7: Springboks v The British & Irish Lions (FNB Stadium, Johannesburg)
