The tickets for what will be the first-ever Test between the four-time World Champions and Portugal are sold out a week before the game.

It’s often that the Springboks host a lower-tier national in Bloemfontein and it’s normally the biggest teams such as the All Blacks, Wallabies, England and Wales that play in the city. Free State Rugby has in the past declined to host the Pumas of Argentina out of fear of not being able to host a sold out match and hence leading to a financial loss.

The Springboks were set to tackle Georgia this year, however, because of Portugal’s outstanding Rugby World Cup campaign in France last year, they rose above the Georgians in the world rankings and earned the right to tackle the back-to-back world champions.

An official at Free State Rugby informed OFM Sport on Saturday that the online sales closed earlier in the day, and only a handful of tickets were still available.

This comes despite the Springboks having made no secret about the fact that some of their biggest names will be rested for the Bloemfontein Test, while they will most likely give up-and-coming players such as André-Hugo Venter an opportunity at international level. It would be fitting as the son of the Free State and Springbok great André Venter was raised in the city.

The last time the Springboks played in Bloemfontein was during the second Test against Wales on 9 July 2022. On the day, the Welsh stunned the Boks with a 13-12 victory for their first-ever win against hosts on South African soil.

Os Lobos (The Wolves) of Portugal will head to Bloemfontein with confidence after they managed to beat the Welwitschias of Namibia 37-22 in Windhoek on Saturday. By the same token a last second drop goal saw Ireland beating the Springboks 25-24 in the second Test in Durban.

Saturday’s Test between the Springboks and Portugal at the sold out Toyota Stadium will kick-off at 17:00.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport