World champions South Africa will play all four Home Nations on their end-of-year tour of the northern hemisphere, the Springboks have confirmed.
The first international of the tour will be against Ireland in Dublin on 6 November, at the Aviva Stadium – the newly redeveloped Lansdowne Road.
They then play Wales, Scotland and England on the following Saturdays.
The tour is scheduled to end with a fixture against the Barbarians, at a venue which has yet to be confirmed.
The venue for the Springboks’ opening Test of the year, at home to France on 12 June, has yet to be decided.
Newlands in Cape Town is the likely venue but the South African Rugby Union needs to check the availability of the stadium with organisers of the 2010 football World Cup, which is taking place in South Africa.

South Africa coach Peter de Villiers has launched an astonishing defence of banned flanker Schalk Burger.
He was found guilty of “making contact with the face in the eye area” of British and Irish Lions wing Luke Fitzgerald in Saturday’s second Test.
“It is a contact sport and so is dancing. Guys who can’t take it, let’s go to the nearest ballet shop and get some tutus”, De Villiers said.
South Africa will not appeal against Burger’s eight-week ban.

The world champions also saw second row Bakkies Botha handed a two-week ban for dangerous charging.
They have yet to decide whether to appeal against Botha’s ban, and as a result have delayed naming their team for the third Test until Thursday – the same day as the Lions.

Five Lions players were taken to hospital following Saturday’s game, with Welsh duo Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones out of the third Test with a broken cheekbone and a dislocated shoulder respectively.
When he was asked if he thought the sport was becoming more violent De Villiers said: “If we are going to make it soft because we want a safe series and people don’t like it, I can’t do anything about it.”
Television footage showed Burger’s fingers making contact with Fitzgerald’s eye inside the first minute of the game in Pretoria.

Fitzgerald was able to continue after treatment, but Burger escaped with only a yellow card from French referee Christophe Berdos, a decision taken on the advice of New Zealand touch judge Bryce Lawrence, who spotted the offence.
“I have watched the television footage, and am still convinced that nothing he did was on purpose,” said De Villiers. “He is an honourable man – he never meant to go to anyone’s eye.”

The International Rugby Board (IRB) says it is looking into the issue of eye-gouging after the incident involving Burger and another involving Italy captain Sergio Parisse, who was also banned for eight weeks for a similar offence during Saturday’s 27-6 defeat by New Zealand in Christchurch.
The IRB is awaiting the report from South Africa via their judicial officer Alan Hudson.
“The IRB does not condone any violent behaviour and there is no place for illegal play in our game,” said an IRB spokesman.

According to the IRB regulations, the recommended minimum sanction for “contact with the eye or eye area” is 12 weeks.
Meanwhile, former England hooker Brian Moore wants gouging bans to be increased.
“It’s been a publicised issue, bans have been handed out but people aren’t stopping doing it and if the bans aren’t working they have got to be longer,” Moore told the BBC.
“Rugby is a contact sport and you have to accept the risks but Burger gouged him, it was as simple as that. It can’t be accidental and there is no place for it in the game.
“I don’t know how Bryce Lawrence, who was the referee in the first Test and had the best view of this incident of anyone in the world, could not understand that there is no other sanction other than a red card for gouging.
“He is an elite referee and to get that wrong is scandalous.”

Allister Coetzee, Peter de Villiers, Heyneke Meyer and Chester Williams must wait until next month to find out who will become South Africa’s new coach. The South African Rugby Union will announce their new coach on 9 January, two days after interviewing the four shortlisted candidates.

The interviews had been scheduled for the first week of December.

The four are in line to succeed World Cup winning Jake White whose contract expires on 31 December.

South Africa’s World Cup-winning year ended with a defeat as a tired-looking side were outplayed by the Barbarians.

Matt Giteau opened the scoring with a typical Barbarian counter-attack try as the visitors failed to make the most of their early pressure at Twickenham.

Barend Pieterse’s try gave South Africa hope but tries either side of the break by Martyn Williams and Rocky Elsom ended hopes of a Springbok revival.

Jason Robinson set up a try and earned a standing ovation on his farewell.

South Africa’s Ryan Kankowski came close to the opening try when he broke free and charged up the left wing following a scrappy Mark Regan line-out throw.

But Joe Rokocoko’s superbly-timed tackle knocked him into touch inches short of the line.

That break camped South Africa on the Baa-Baas line, and it just looked like a matter of time before they scored.

But when the try came, it was a thrilling Barbarian breakaway, after an uncharacteristic handling mistake by Habana.

Ma’a Nonu and Giteau combined well to set up Conrad Smith to cover half the pitch, and he looked to have lost the initiative before off-loading to Rokocoko, whose pass put Giteau over to touch down.

Nonu wasted two good chances to add to that advantage before Schalk Burger’s late replacement Pieterse finished off a Habana-inspired attack to put South Africa on the scoreboard.

But when Francois Steyn’s ill-judged kick went straight down the throat of Robinson, making his final appearance on the world stage, it just set up the next Baa-Baas try.

His electric burst brought the crowd to its feet and set up Williams for a slick finish just before the break, and when Elsom added another straight after the restart, the Barbarians were out of sight.

The death of the match as a competitive event coincided with rain setting in, and the spark of the first half was lost as the conditions grew worse.

Pride meant that South Africa began to treat the game more like a competitive Test, but for all their efforts and pressure, they rarely had try-scoring chances.

With 13 minutes left, Robinson was substituted, to a standing ovation, with his place going to Peter Grant.

Troy Flavell was yellow-carded with 10 minutes to go for a clumsy high challenge on Habana as a game which had promised so much early on ended up petering out to a tame conclusion.

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Barbarians: Robinson, Rokocoko, Smith, Nonu, Neivua, Giteau, Marshall, Pucciarello, Regan, Ma’afu, Cockbain, Harrison, Elsom, Williams, Collins. Replacements: Brits, Moller, Flavell, Owen, Shanklin, Grant, Cohen.

South Africa: Pienaar, Ndungane, Fourie, Steyn, Habana, Pretorius, Januarie, van der Linde, B. du Plessis, J. du Plessis, Muller, Ackermann, Pieterse, Smith, Kankowski. Replacements: Liebenberg, van der Merwe, van den Berg, Lobberts, Olivier, Julies, Jantjes.

World champions South Africa saw departing coach Jake White off in style with an impressive victory over Wales.

The Springboks scored five tries on the way to their 34-12 victory at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Tries from Juan Smith, Jaque Fourie (2), JP Pietersen and Ryan Kankowski proved too much for the Welsh.

Nigel Davies’ side showed flashes of what they are capable of with Colin Charvis and Morgan Stoddart crossing either side of half-time.

While Wales dominated first-half territory, the South Africans were clinical with the possession they had.

Nearly every venture into Wales’ 22 resulted in points for the world champions.

Outside-half Francois Steyn got their first points of the game, sending over an early penalty, after Wales number eight Jonathan Thomas had been penalised for a high tackle on Bakkies Botha.

The set-piece was always going to be the most crucial area of the game and Wales struggled in both the line-out and in the scrum.

In particular, prop Rhys Thomas, making his first Wales start, was being given a torrid time by CJ van der Linde.

It took the South Africans until midway through the first half to get their first try of the afternoon.

Flanker Juan Smith scored it, beating several weak tackles and make it 10-0.

Hook, who had earlier dislocated a finger, was then the victim of a high tackle from South African flanker Schalk Burger to give Wales their first opportunity to add some points.

But Hook, still rattled from the hit by Burger, sent his penalty wide from in front of the posts.

The Springboks punished Wales with two tries in five minutes, both coming from centre Fourie.

His first came in the corner after quick hands gave South Africa space out wide.

Minutes later a clinical move from a South African line-out saw Fourie cut through the Wales midfield with ease.

Wales looked to be heading towards a first-half whitewash but just before the break Charvis finished off Stoddart’s chip and chase for 22-5.

It was Charvis’ 22nd try for Wales, also making him the world record try scorer for a forward.

South Africa took just four minutes to respond in the second half with the unusually quiet Bryan Habana showing blistering pace out wide before releasing Pietersen to cross for 27-10.

Andre Pretorius sent over the conversion, his third of the game, as South Africa moved into a comfortable lead.

Wales continued to plug away and Stoddart, making his Wales debut, got his reward for a decent game.

James Hook created it, launching a cross-field kick behind South Africa’s defence for Stoddart to gratefully receive and touch down for Wales’ second try.

That sparked mass changes from both sides and the game became disrupted as a result.

Mike Phillips injected his usual physical presence following his introduction, upsetting more than one South Africa player in the process.

But South Africa continued to put pressure on Wales’ defence and with 12 minutes remaining number eight Kankowski finished off an overlap to increase his side’s lead.

Wales pressed for their third try of the game but the experienced South African defence held out to send White off in style.

For Wales’ new coach Warren Gatland, who takes over from caretaker coach Davies, the performances of several of the newcomers to the squad would have given him encouragement ahead of next year’s Six Nations.

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Wales: Stoddart, M. Jones, Parker, Henson, Shanklin, Hook, Peel, Jenkins, Bennett, R. Thomas, Evans, A. Jones, Charvis, Sowden-Taylor, J. Thomas.
Replacements: James for Stoddart (69), Sweeney for Hook (76), Phillips for Peel (53), T. Thomas for Bennett (53), D. Jones for R. Thomas (69), Charteris for Evans (53), Popham for Charvis (61).

South Africa: Pienaar, Pietersen, Fourie, Steyn, Habana, Pretorius, Januarie, van der Linde, Smit, J. du Plessis, Botha, Muller, Burger, Smith, Kankowski.
Replacements: Ndungane for Pietersen (75), Olivier for Pretorius (59), Jantjes for Januarie (78), B. du Plessis for van der Linde (75), van der Merwe for J. du Plessis (64), van den Berg for Botha (40), Lobberts for Kankowski (78).
Sin Bin: van den Berg (48), B. du Plessis (77).