The Springboks will make their return to the Rugby Championship on Saturday, 14 August against Argentina at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, with Irish referee Andrew Brace set to take charge of this opening-round encounter.

Brace will be assisted by England’s Karl Dickson, as well as South Africa’s AJ Jacobs (assistant referees), while Tom Foley (England) was appointed as the television match official (TMO).

The Springboks and Pumas are due to meet each other again one week later in a second-round clash at the same Eastern Cape venue.

This time Dickson will be the man handling the whistle, with South Africans Marius van der Westhuizen and Jacobs performing the assistant refereeing roles, and Foley scheduled to perform the TMO duties for a second successive week.

The Springboks won the Rugby Championship in 2019, the same year the Boks also clinched their third Rugby World Cup. However, last year the South Africans were unable to take part in the 2020 edition of the Rugby Championship due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following the completion of their two opening-round matches, the Springboks are set to travel to Australia, where they will complete their competition fixtures against the Wallabies and All Blacks.

Springboks vs Argentina – Match official appointments:

Round 1 – 14 August

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

Match referee: Andrew Brace

Assistant referees: Karl Dickson and AJ Jacobs

TMO: Tom Foley

Round 2 – 21 August

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

Match referee: Karl Dickson

Assistant referees: Marius van der Westhuizen and AJ Jacobs

TMO: Tom Foley