South Africa will face a tough start to their Tri-Nations title defence when they travel to Auckland to face New Zealand.

The Springboks are to begin their campaign on July 10 next year at the same venue that will host the World Cup final in 2011.

They will then travel south to Wellington for a second away meeting with the All Blacks a week later, in line with the planning structure of SANZAR, the body that governs Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The Wallabies enter the fray on July 24 when they host the world champions in Brisbane, a match that will bring to an end three weeks on the road for Peter de Villiers' side.

On July 31, the Australians and New Zealanders will lock horns in the first of their Bledisloe Cup meetings in Melbourne, which will be followed by Robbie Deans' team travelling to Christchurch a week later for a second match against the All Blacks.

The Springboks are then back in action almost a month later when they welcome Graham Henry and his team to Johannesburg on August 21, before back-to-back Tests against the Wallabies in Pretoria and Bloemfontein respectively.

The competition concludes with another Australia-New Zealand encounter, this time in Sydney on September 11.