Cape Town - The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) have confirmed that they will not broadcast any games from the 2019 Rugby World Cup to be held in Japan.

The prestigious tournament is set to get underway on Friday when hosts Japan face Russia. The mouthwatering clash between the Springboks and the All Blacks takes place on Saturday.

The news was confirmed by SABC sportscaster, Thabiso Mosia in a tweet on Monday afternoon.

"SABC has confirmed on @SAfmRadio that it will not broadcast any matches of the Rugby World Cup on TV or radio..They could not reach an agreement with Multichoice/SuperSport who own both TV and radio rights for rugby....More on #SAFMSportOn7-8pm," tweeted Mosia.

This was confirmed later in a tweet from SAfm quoting SABC spokersperson Vuyo Mthembu: "Vuyo Mthembu: Yes, I can confirm that the SABC weren't able to secure the rugby world cup rights for TV and radio. It wouldn't have been commercially viable."

The start of the Absa Premiership soccer season also saw a blackout for a number of fixtures before Minister of Sport and Culture Nathi Mthethwa and the Minister of Communications and Digital technologies, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams stepped in to broker a deal between the national broadcaster, the Premier Soccer League and SuperSport.

SABC has confirmed on @SAfmRadio that it will not broadcast any matches of the Rugby World Cup on TV or radio..They could not reach an agreement with Multichoice/SuperSport who own both TV and radio rights for rugby....More on #SAFMSportOn 7-8pm — Tracksuit (@ThabisoMosia) September 16, 2019

#SAFMSportOn Vuyo Mthembu: Yes, I can confirm that the SABC weren't able to secure the rugby world cup rights for TV and radio. It wouldn't have been commercially viable. — SAfmRadio ?? (@SAfmRadio) September 16, 2019

- Compiled by Craig Taylor