Boks to start RC with Puma double

The Springboks will play their first two matches of the 2013 Rugby Championship against Argentina before travelling to Australasia.

The draw will see something of a repeat of last year's schedule for the Boks, with coach Heyneke Meyer's team set to end the tournament with home games against Australia and New Zealand.

The Rugby Championship will be played at 12 different venues across the four competing nations, providing rugby fans throughout the southern hemisphere with every opportunity to see the world's leading teams in action.

SANZAR CEO Greg Peters said: "The schedule has remained consistent with recent seasons to provide familiarity for Unions and fans while maximising our television audience, which is always a challenge when working across four distinctly different time zones.

"The inaugural staging of the Rugby Championship showcased a very high standard of rugby to more than 16 million viewers and over half a million passionate supporters that filled stadiums to 91% capacity.

"With New Zealand, South Africa and Australia ranked one to three in the world, Argentina rapidly acclimatising to this high calibre of rugby and 10 combined end-of-year Test match triumphs for our four competing nations, SANZAR is confident of raising the bar even higher in 2013," he added.

All the 2013 Rugby Championship fixtures:

Saturday August 17

Australia v New Zealand

(ANZ Stadium, Sydney - Kick-off: 20:05; 10:05 GMT)

South Africa v Argentina

(Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein - Kick-off: 15:00; 13:00 GMT)

Saturday, August 24

August New Zealand v Australia

(Westpac Stadium, Welllington - Kick-off: 19:35; 7:35 GMT)

Argentina v South Africa

(Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza - Kick-off: 16:10; 19:10 GMT)

Saturday, September 7  

Australia v South Africa

(Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane - Kick-off: 20:05; 10:05 GMT)

New Zealand v Argentina

(Waikato Stadium, Hamilton - Kick-off: 19:35; 7:35 GMT)

Saturday, September 14  

Australia v Argentina

(Patersons Stadium, Perth - Kick-off: 18:05; 10:05 GMT)

New Zealand v South Africa

(Eden Park, Auckland - Kick-off: 19:35; 7:35 GMT)

Saturday, September 28  

South Africa v Australia

(Newlands Stadium, Cape Town - Kick-off: 17:00; 15:00 GMT)

Argentina v New Zealand

(Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata - Kick-off: 19:40; 22:40 GMT)

Saturday, October 5  

South Africa v New Zealand

(Ellis Park, Johannesburg - Kick-off: 17:00; 15:00 GMT)

Argentina v Australia

(Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario - Kick-off: 19:40; 22:40 GMT)