How to watch South Africa v Scotland: TV channel, live stream and kick off time for Nations Championship Test

Scotland continue their inaugural Nations Championship campaign this weekend with one of the toughest tests in rugby - facing the Springboks in South Africa.

The Scots have never beaten the Boks on their own soil and haven’t won a match against them in any capacity since 2010 when Dan Parks kicked them to a 21-17 win at Murrayfield. However, confidence is high amongst Gregor Townsend’s squad after they started the competition with an impressive 47-38 win over Argentina in Cordoba last weekend.

They will hope to carry that momentum into this Saturday’s contest where they will come up against a South Africa team who have made ten changes to the side that thumped England 45-21 in Johannesburg. Here is everything you need to know about when and where the game will be played and how you can watch all the action in the UK:

South Africa v Scotland venue and UK kick off time for Nations Championship clash

South Africa will move venues from their last outing against the English at Ellis Park Stadium and will take on Scotland this weekend at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. Many of the current Scotland squad have experienced the venue, which is located at an altitude of 1,350m above sea level, before as it is the home of Vodacom Bulls who compete in the United Rugby Championship (URC) along with Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh.

Pretoria is one hour ahead of the United Kingdom during the summer so the match will kick off at 5:40pm local time which will be 4:40pm for Scotland fans at home. The match will be played on Saturday, July 11.

What TV channel is South Africa v Scotland on?

ITV and STV are broadcasting the 2026 Nations Championship with the South Africa v Scotland set to be shown on ITV 1 and STV. Build up to the match begins at 4:20pm immediately following the conclusion of the Fiji v England match.

All six round two Nations Championship matches will be shown across ITV’s channels. These are the fixtures and their UK kick off times:

• New Zealand vs Italy (6:10am)
• Australia v France (8:40am)
• Japan vs Ireland (11:10 am)
• Fiji vs England (2:10pm)
• South Africa vs Scotland (4:40pm)
• Argentina vs Wales (8:10pm)

South Africa vs Scotland Nations Championship live stream

South Africa vs Scotland can be live streamed via the ITVX and STV Player apps. Both are available through Smart TVS and to download from most mainstream app stores on mobile devices.

South Africa vs Scotland rugby history

Scotland have never won a match away to South Africa in seven attempts dating back to 1960. The last time they played in the Southern Hemisphere nation was at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth in 2014 where the Springboks hammered them 55-6.

The two nations have played a total of 30 Test matches against each other with Scotland winning just five to the Springboks’ 25. The last Scotland win came at Murrayfield in 2010 and their last meeting, also at Murrayfield, saw the Boks’ run out 32-15 winners in November 2024.

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