Watch the Springboks return to the international stage

South Africa v Georgia live stream: How to watch the Test

South Africa play their first match since winning the 2019 Rugby World Cup against Georgia tonight (kick-off 6pm UK & Ireland time) at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

The Springboks haven’t been able to take the field since lifting the Webb Ellis Cup due to Covid-19 and are starting to build up to taking on the British & Irish Lions 2021 with a two-Test series against the Lelos.

Georgia wrapped up another Rugby Europe Championship last weekend, beating the Netherlands to make it five wins from five in the 2021 tournament. Now they are facing South Africa for only second time, their first meeting happening at RWC 2003.

The Boks have picked two uncapped players in their starting line-up – wingers Rosko Specman and Aphelele Fassi – and have another possible debutant on the bench in Jasper Wiese.

In the Georgia line-up, Luka Japaridze is set to win his first cap from the bench too.

Here are the team line-ups and below are details of how to watch the match.

South Africa: Willie le Roux; Rosko Specman, Jesse Kriel, Frans Steyn, Aphelele Fassi; Handré Pollard, Cobus Reinach; Ox Nché, Bongi Mbonambi, Trevor Nyakane, Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi (captain), Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kwagga Smith.

Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Frans Malherbe, Marvin Orie, Jasper Wiese, Herschel Jantjies, Elton Jantjies, Damian Willemse.

Georgia: David Niniashvili; Akaki Tabutsadze, Giorgi Kveseladze, Merab Sharikadze (captain), Demur Tapladze; Tedo Abzhandadze, Vasil Lobzhanidze; Guram Gogichashvili, Jaba Bregvadze, Giorgi Melikidze, David Gigauri, Kote Mikautadze, Giorgi Tsutskiridze, Beka Saginadze, Tornike Jalagonia.

Replacements: Giorgi Chkoidze, Nikoloz Khatiashvili, Luka Japaridze, Nodar Cheishvili, Giorgi Javakhia, Gela Aprasidze, Giorgi Babunashvili, Ilia Spanderashvili.

Related: Georgia to wear UN Women-branded shirts against South Africa


How to watch South Africa v Georgia from outside your country

If you’re abroad, but still want to watch your local rugby coverage, like the South Africa v Georgia, you can do so by using a VPN – Virtual Private Network.

VPNs allow you to get around any geo-blocking by changing your IP address so you appear in a different location and can watch the same legal live stream you would at home.

Our friends at TechRadar have tested hundreds of VPN and recommend ExpressVPN, which is easy to use, has strong security features and allows you to watch on several devices at once, including smart TVs and phones, iPads, tablets, PCs and Macs.

Plus, ExpressVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can try it out for a month for free or sign up for an annual plan and get three months free.


South Africa v Georgia live stream: How to watch from the UK & Ireland

The Springboks’ two matches against Gerogia – on 2 and 9 July – will be televised live on Sky Sports. Coverage of tonight’s fixture starts at 5.30pm on Sky Sports Action.

Sky TV and Sports packages are available from £45 a month.

If you’re from the UK but are overseas when the Lions tour takes place, you can get your normal live stream but you’ll need a VPN – see the information above.


South Africa v Georgia live stream: How to watch from South Africa

This match (kick-off 7pm SA time) will be live on SuperSport’s CSN, Grandstand and Rugby channels.

There are various DStv packages available that give access to SuperSport, ranging from Access, which has the Blitz and Variety 4 channels, to Premium, which includes all 18 sports channels.


We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:

  1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service)
  2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad

We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing. 

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