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Test rugby at Aviva Stadium with 4-course dining and reserved seat hospitality.
4.8
10 reviews
Clients praised the excellent organisation and support throughout their rugby trip to Dublin.
Clients praised the excellent organisation and support throughout their rugby trip to Dublin.
4.8
(10)
Dublin
9°
Rain showers
Our best tips
Rugby season runs through autumn and winter, so wrap up warm. Hospitality suites are heated, but you will be outside in the stands for the match itself. Layers are your friend.
Smart casual is the expected standard for rugby hospitality. A blazer or collared shirt works well for gentlemen; ties are welcome but not required. Ladies should dress for a smart daytime occasion.
Getting you on track
Completely hands-off from start to finish
Tell us what you're after and we'll plan the rest. All you have to do is show up.
Everything you need at your fingertips
Store all your event information, tickets, and contact details in one convenient place
Add personal touches to your trip
Make a request and our team will do everything they can to make it happen
Pick the experience, pick the tier, pick the day. Your account manager handles the rest.
F1, Wimbledon, Royal Ascot, the Six Nations, Glastonbury. If it sells out in minutes, we have people on the door.
Getting around
Lansdowne Road DART station is right beside the Aviva Stadium. Services run regularly from Dublin city centre and the coastal suburbs.
Taxis and ride-hailing are widely available in Dublin. The stadium is in the Ballsbridge area, around 20 minutes' walk from the city centre.
The Aviva Stadium is walkable from most central Dublin hotels. It is about a 25-minute stroll from Grafton Street through the pleasant Georgian streets of Dublin 4.
Ireland and South Africa have been meeting on the rugby pitch since 1906, a rivalry shaped by decades of Springbok dominance, political upheaval, and a dramatic modern reversal. For nearly a century, Ireland managed just a single victory against the green and gold. Since 2004, the balance of power has shifted decisively, with Dublin's Aviva Stadium becoming a ground where South Africa can no longer expect safe passage.
Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.
We didn't have the support of 63,000 South Africans today. We had the support of 43 million.
Three points separated the sides; a century of dominance was just beginning.
South Africa's first touring side visited the British Isles and Ireland in 1906, playing Ireland at Belfast's Balmoral Showgrounds on 24 November. The Springboks won 15-12 in a closely fought encounter. It was the beginning of a fixture that would be defined, for the best part of a century, by South African superiority.
Three penalties from Kiernan's boot gave Ireland their first victory over South Africa, ending nearly six decades of attempts.
On 10 April 1965, at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, Ireland recorded their first ever victory over South Africa, winning 9-6. It had taken nearly six decades and multiple attempts. Tom Kiernan kicked three penalties to secure a result that felt seismic at the time. It would remain Ireland's sole win over the Springboks for another 39 years.
Ireland never hosted the Springboks that year; protest made certain of it.
The planned 1970 Springbok tour to the British Isles was severely disrupted by anti-apartheid demonstrations. The Irish leg was cancelled entirely. South Africa's increasing international isolation meant the fixture would be played only sporadically through the 1970s and 1980s, with the Springboks excluded from the first two Rugby World Cups in 1987 and 1991.
World champions in 1995, yet the Springboks still needed proving at Lansdowne Road; they obliged, winning comfortably.
With South Africa readmitted to international rugby following the end of apartheid, and having won the 1995 World Cup on home soil, the fixture became a regular autumn international. Ireland hosted the Springboks at Lansdowne Road in November 1998, losing 13-27. The professional era brought more frequent meetings, but the same familiar outcome: South African wins.
Thirty-nine years of waiting, ended by a single November afternoon in Dublin.
On 13 November 2004, Ireland beat South Africa 17-12 at Lansdowne Road during the Autumn Internationals. It was Ireland's first win over the Springboks since 1965. The result marked a genuine turning point in the rivalry. Under Eddie O'Sullivan, Ireland had developed into a side capable of competing with the southern hemisphere's best, and the days of automatic Springbok victories in Dublin were over.
A brand-new 51,700-seat arena, christened by a thumping win over the Springboks; Ireland were building something special.
The new Aviva Stadium replaced the old Lansdowne Road ground in 2010, and Ireland christened it with a 29-15 victory over South Africa that November. The 51,700-capacity arena, with its distinctive curved roof and Ballsbridge setting, gave Ireland a modern home befitting their rising status. Between 2004 and 2010, Ireland won three of their four meetings with the Springboks.
A first victory on South African soil, secured in Cape Town after decades of trying.
In June 2016, Joe Schmidt's Ireland toured South Africa for a three-test series. They won the first test 26-20 in Cape Town, a historic result: Ireland's first ever victory on South African soil. The Springboks hit back, however, winning the second test 32-26 in Johannesburg and the third 19-13 in Port Elizabeth to take the series 2-1. The Cape Town win nonetheless represented a landmark moment in the fixture's history.
Ireland beat the side that lifted the trophy; not many teams can say that.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup drew Ireland and South Africa together in Pool B, and their meeting at the Stade de France on 23 September was billed as the match of the pool stage. Ireland, ranked number one in the world, won 13-8 in a tense, bruising encounter. The Springboks would go on to win the tournament itself, beating New Zealand in the final, but Andy Farrell's Ireland had proven they could beat the eventual champions when it mattered.
One point apiece after two tests; the gap between these sides has never been smaller.
In July 2024, Ireland toured South Africa for a two-test series under Andy Farrell. South Africa won the first test 27-20 in Pretoria, before Ireland levelled the series with a 25-24 victory in Durban. The 1-1 draw underlined just how evenly matched these two sides have become. What was once a one-sided affair is now one of the most compelling rivalries in world rugby.
