Springboks arrive in Gqeberha to begin Rugby Championship preparations
While the Springboks enjoyed their celebrations on Saturday night, they’re all back to Rugby Championship business.
So says head coach Jacques Nienaber after the Boks arrived in Gqeberha on Sunday following their 2-1 Series win over the British & Irish Lions.
The Boks kicked off their preparations for the southern hemisphere spectacle after a dramatic and entertaining three-Test Series against Warren Gatland’s tourists.
RG Snyman (lock) will rejoin the squad next week, after Duane Vermeulen (No 8), Rosko Specman (wing), Jaden Hendrikse (scrumhalf) and Johan Grobbelaar (hooker) were called up last week.
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“We are very proud about winning Lions Series and as a team we enjoyed celebrating that massive feat on Saturday night, but we have a big week ahead,” said Nienaber.
“Our first Test against Argentina in the Rugby Championship is on Saturday, so everything we do now has to be geared toward delivering a quality performance to kick off our campaign.
“We have two important games in Nelson Mandela Bay and then we travel to Australasia for the away leg of the tournament.
“With a long season ahead, it is important that we build on the strides made in our last few matches when we take the field in the coming weeks.”
Nienaber added that there were no serious injuries from Saturday’s match. He did, however, say they might look at resting a few players for the first Test against Los Pumas.
“We selected a big squad with the intention of being as well prepared as possible for the season ahead,” he said.
“There are some players who were part of the initial 46-man squad for our conditioning camp in June, who have not had an opportunity yet, so we will look to give them some of them a run in the next few weeks.
“It is important that we manage the players well to maintain the standards we have set for ourselves, and that includes game time for some players and resting others who have had a heavy load in the last few weeks.”
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