CONFIRMED: SA derbies brought forward

NEWS: There is some good news for South African rugby fans on Monday.

Two United Rugby Championship derbies originally scheduled for February 2022 have been brought forward and will be played in Durban and Cape Town this weekend.

In the wake of the Round Six and Seven matches that were postponed last week due to the emergence of a new variant of COVID-19, it was decided to move two local derbies forward.

As a result, the Sharks will now host the Bulls in Durban on Friday (19.00 SA time; 17.00 GMT) at Kings Park, while the Stormers will face the Lions in Cape Town on Saturday (17.00 SA time; 15.00 GMT) at Cape Town Stadium.

Limited spectators will be allowed at these matches as was gazetted by the South African government in October.

"Our four teams have been hard at work and in conjunction with the tournament organisers, we’ve decided to bring forward two of the derbies originally scheduled for early in the new year,” said Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby.

"Apart from providing our teams with much-needed game time, we are also trying to open up space in the calendar for a possible rescheduling of the matches that had been postponed this weekend."

UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP – Update Fixtures for weekend December 3 & 4

Friday, December 3 (Round 12)

Sharks v Bulls

Venue: Kings Park, Durban

Kick-off: 19.00 (17:00 GMT)

Saturday, December 4 (Round Eight)

Stormers v Lions

Venue: Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town

Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)