Springboks captain Siya Kolisi alongside head coach Jacques Nienaber and SA director of rugby Rassie Erasmus

Siya Kolisi alongside Bok bosses Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber. Photo: SA Rugby website

Springboks provide positive feedback as Test focus sharpens

This Saturday will mark the two-week countdown until the Springboks officially begin their Test season against Australia.

by Craig Lewis

23-06-2023 15:49

in Springboks

Siya Kolisi alongside Bok bosses Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber. Photo: SA Rugby website

The Springboks have been hard at work on and off the field in the last two weeks for their opening Test of the season against Australia at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, 8 July, with the training camp comprising numerous field and gym sessions and team meetings.

ALSO READ: Could new-look Springboks team look like this for first 2023 Test?

The group will re-assemble in Pretoria on Sunday for the final week of the training camp before entering the Australia Test week a week later.

“Things are coming together nicely,” said Nienaber. “The intensity of our training sessions is good, and it’s pleasing to see how we are progressing. We had a good base to build from, thanks to the camps earlier in the season, and we’ve built on that steadily since getting together.”

“We also started zooming into the Tests against Australia and New Zealand this week because it’s vital that we are well prepared going into those Test matches and have a good Rugby Championship campaign before entering our Rugby World Cup warm-up matches and the global spectacle itself later in the season.”

MUST READ | Springboks: ‘Elton is probably our fourth choice flyhalf’

SA Rugby Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus, meanwhile, was delighted about the confirmation from World Rugby that lock Jean Kleyn is eligible for selection based on the rule of birth-right transfer.

“Jean’s clearance is great news for the team in this important season,” said Erasmus. “His international experience increases our depth at lock while at the same time boosting the experience in the squad in a year in which every match is vital in our preparations for the World Cup.”

ALSO READ: Springboks news: Kolisi set for early injury return!

The Springboks will play three Tests in the abbreviated version of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship against Australia (8 July), New Zealand at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland (Saturday 15 July) and Argentina at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg (Saturday 29 July).

The team will then play three Rugby World Cup warm-up games – against Argentina in Buenos Aires (5 August), Wales in Cardiff (19 August) and New Zealand in London (25 August) before travelling to Corsica for a one-week camp en route to Toulon for their opening Rugby World Cup fixture against Scotland on Sunday 10 September.

OPINION | BOKS, TJOPS & DOPS: The road to Rugby World Cup: Versatile Pollard reinvents Springboks