The Springboks and South African fans on Wednesday received good news in the lead-up to the 2015 IRB Rugby World Cup in England, with the announcement that three of the team’s four round-robin matches will begin at 17:00 (19:00 SA Time) and only one at 20:00 (22:00 SA Time).

The Springboks kick off their Rugby World Cup campaign on 19 September 2015, against the top Asian qualifier at the Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton, at 20:00 (22:00 SA Time).

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This will be followed by clashes against Samoa at Villa Park in Birmingham on 26 September, Scotland at St James’ Park in Newcastle on 3 October and an Americas qualifier at the Olympic Stadium in London on 7 October 2015, all of them at 17:00 (19:00 SA Time).

Should the team advance to the final stages of the international spectacle and top the Pool, they will be treated to further 17:00 (19:00 SA Time) kick-offs, as their quarterfinal and semifinal, as well as the Rugby World Cup final will also kick off at that time.

These match times formed part of a uniform spread of four kick-off times for the pool stages, which are 12:00, 14:30, 17:00 and 20:00.

These timings were announced following a collaborative process between tournament organisers England 2015, Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL), the host broadcaster ITV, and the tournament’s key stakeholders to ensure the best-possible platform for the 20 participating teams, fans attending the matches and sports fans watching the broadcast in more than 200 territories worldwide.

Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer said: “We are pleased with the times of our matches, as we are used to playing at that time in South Africa both at international and provincial level. The fact that we will have consistency in the times of our matches after our opening game will also ensure that we are able to adopt a structured approach to our training, rather than having to adapt our preparations throughout the tournament. This will certainly simplify matters ahead of what will be the biggest test for us a team since the 2011 Rugby World Cup.”

England 2015 in conjunction with the IRB also released the ticket prices and their ticketing structure on Wednesday with 2,3 million tickets set to be made available across the 48 matches.

More than a million tickets will be sold at £100 or less (approximately R1633 at the current exchange rate) with 500000 tickets to be sold at £50 or less (approximately R816), while the cheapest adult tickets will start at £15 (R245). Children’s tickets will also be available for 41 of the 48 matches from £7 (R114).

South African fans will be able to secure tickets and travel packages through SA Rugby Travel when sales open in the New Year.

The key dates to purchase tickets are as follows:

• January 1, 2014 – Travelling fan packages go on sale
• February 2, 2014 – Hospitality packages go on sale
• May / June 2014 – Tickets on sale to Rugby fans through Rugby clubs
• September 2014 – General sale application process begins
• November / December 2014 – Real time sale of remaining tickets

The Springboks’ RWC 2015 Pool B schedule is:

• Saturday 19 Sept, 20:00: v Asia 1 – Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton
• Saturday 26 Sept, 17:00: v Samoa – Villa Park, Birmingham
• Saturday 3 Oct, 17:00: v Scotland – St James’ Park, Newcastle
• Wednesday 7 Oct, 17:00: v Americas 2 – Olympic Stadium, London

Quarter Finals:

• QF1: Saturday 17 October, 14:00 – W Pool C vs RU Pool D – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
• QF2: Saturday 17 October, 17:00 – W Pool B vs RU Pool A – Twickenham, London
• QF3: Sunday 18 October, 14:00 – W Pool D vs RU Pool C – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
• QF4: Sunday 18 October, 17:00 – W Pool A vs RU Pool B – Twickenham, London

Semifinals:

• Saturday 24 October, 17:00 – W QF1 vs W QF2 – Twickenham, London
• Sunday 25 October, 17:00 – W QF3 vs W QF4 – Twickenham, London

Bronze final:

• Friday 30 October, 20:00 – Olympic Stadium, London

Final:

• Saturday 31 October, 17:00 – Twickenham, London