LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 31: South Africa pose for a photo for a team photograph during the South African national men's rugby team official photograph at Royal Garden Hotel on October 31, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Harding/Gallo Images)
The Springboks open their fiver-match tour of the UK and Europe with a Test against Japan at Wembley in London on Saturday.
The Boks go into the game on the back of winning the Rugby Championship last month, while Japan, under the guidance of Eddie Jones, just lost to Australia in Tokyo last weekend.
The Boks have included a number of Japan-based club players in their match-23, while 21-year-old Stormers prop Zachary Porthen will debut at tighthead.
Below is The Citizen’s coverage of the game on Saturday.
Boks v Japan — LIVE UPDATES
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TEAMS
SPRINGBOKS – 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Ethan Hooker, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Bench: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Ruan Nortje, 20 André Esterhuizen, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Manie Libbok.
JAPAN – 15 Yoshitaka Yazaki, 14 Kippei Ishida, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Charlie Lawrence, 11 Tomoki Osada, 10 Seungsin Lee, 9 Shinobu Fujiwara, 8 Michael Leitch, 7 Kanji Shimokawa, 6 Ben Gunter, 5 Warner Dearns (c), 4 Jack Cornelsen, 3 Shuhei Takeuchi, 2 Kenji Sato, 1 Kenta Kobayashi.
Bench: 16 Shodai Hirao, 17 Ryosuke Iwaihara, 18 Keijiro Tamefusa, 19 Tyler Paul, 20 Faulua Makisi, 21 Kenta Fukuda, 22 Sam Greene, 23 Tiennan Costley.
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