Boks get down to business Down Under
THE Springboks hit the ground running this morning (Australian time) with their first full training session barely a day after arriving Down Under.
The world champions are hoping that their early arrival in Brisbane will aid them as they look to start the southern hemisphere tournament on a positive note in next weekend's Rugby Championship opener against the Wallabies.
After flying via Sydney on their long journey, the players enjoyed some rest yesterday when they touched down in Brisbane, but didn't have their feet up for too long as head coach Rassie Erasmus and his assistants continued their plans to tackle the home side for the first time under new coach Joe Schmidt.
The sides meet in back-to-back Tests at the Suncorp Stadium (August 10) and the Optus Stadium in Perth (August 17), before the world champions return to South Africa for double home matches against arch-rivals New Zealand.
“Having a few extra days to acclimatise and familiarise ourselves with the conditions will be invaluable,” Bok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said.
“It's great to be in Australia and it has certainly added to our excitement for the Tests against the Wallabies and the Rugby Championship as a whole.
“We started the season well with three victories in our four matches to date (against Wales, Ireland and Portugal), and although we would have loved to win the second Test against Ireland, we have a good base to build from going into the Rugby Championship.
“Playing against the likes of Australia, New Zealand and Argentina will definitely be a different challenge to the teams we have faced so far this season, but we enjoy playing against these teams and really look forward to the competition.”
Erasmus reiterated again this past week that they will be looking to experiment with a couple of young players in one of the two Tests, but that could all depend on how well the side goes in the first Test and if they can start the tour with a win.
The Wallabies are currently ranked ninth in the world and the Boks, being the No 1 side, will be favourites for the two clashes.
But the Australians always manage to play their best rugby against South Africa at home and the world champions should not expect anything less from them.
Schmidt, meanwhile, named a 36-man squad that will assemble in Sydney tomorrow to start preparations for the Tests. Winger Marika Koroibete returns as the only overseas-based player. He hasn't played for the Wallabies since last year's World Cup.
There are also a handful of unknown players that the Boks will have to scrutinise over the weekend to see what they could bring to the Wallaby set-up should they be selected for the opening Test.
Two wins Down Under will set the Springboks up nicely for what should be a fierce contest against the All Blacks in Johannesburg (August 31) and Cape Town (September 7) before closing out the Championship with home and away Tests against Argentina late in September.