TOKYO (AP) Defending champion New Zealand will face archrival South Africa in its opening match the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Organizers announced the match schedule for the Sept. 20-Nov. 2 tournament on Thursday, exactly two years out from the tournament final.
The two-time defending champion All Blacks have never lost a pool game, but that record will be tested when they face the two-time champion Springboks in a Pool B match on Sept. 21 in Yokohama.
It will be the first time the two nations meet in the pool stage.
Australia, another two-time champion, will kick off its campaign against Fiji in Sapporo in Pool D.
The 2019 tournament will be the first held outside the traditional rugby-playing countries as the game seeks to broaden the sport's global reach.
