The Springboks held a two-day training camp in Sandton this week before departing for Australia for the highly anticipated Castle Lager Rugby Championship.
- Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus expressed excitement within his 33-member squad, anticipating a challenging tour ahead as they prepared to face the Wallabies.
- The Springboks will kick off the 2024 edition of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday, 10 August 2024.
- Following that, a match at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Saturday, 17 August 2024.
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Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus was pleased with the groundwork laid during the Castle Lager Incoming Series and the recent two-day camp in Sandton.
We had a few good field and gym sessions on Monday and Tuesday. Some of the players come off a well-deserved rest, while the younger players are beaming with excitement about this tour. We are traveling to Australia with good groundwork already in place, and hopefully that pays off.
// Springbok Coach, Rassie Erasmus
Commenting on the upcoming matches, Rassie highlighted the strength of the Wallabies under their new coach, Joe Schmidt.
They are a well-coached team with a new leader in Joe Schmidt, so they are a proper team. They are also very detail-focused, and they have a few new players who we haven’t really encountered before, so we have no doubt they’ll give everything.
// Springbok Coach, Rassie Erasmus
Despite their less-than-ideal track record in Australia, Rassie emphasized their determination to perform.
We are playing against an Australian team that has historically performed well at home. We want to correct the mistakes we made in the last few games, and just as they would like to, we want to win both matches in Australia.
// Springbok Coach, Rassie Erasmus
Reflecting on his past experience working with Joe during his time at Munster, Rassie acknowledged the challenge ahead.
When Joe was the coach of Ireland, I worked closely with him. He has a great work ethic and knows how to bring the best out of his players, so we know the magnitude of the challenge that lies ahead.
// Springbok Coach, Rassie Erasmus
While recognizing the pressure to succeed, Rassie welcomed it.
There was pressure on us in 2019, during the British & Irish Lions tour in 2021, and in the Rugby World Cup last year. We know that people expect us to win, but as always, we’ll give our best on the field and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.
// Springbok Coach, Rassie Erasmus
The Springboks touched down in Australia on Thursday in high spirits following an overnight flight from Johannesburg. They will have the rest of the day off to recover before resuming on-field preparations on Friday. Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick spoke about the importance of acclimatizing to the conditions in Australia.
We had a smooth journey to Brisbane with an overnight flight to Sydney and then made the short trip to Brisbane soon after, so the players were able to rest well on the long-haul flight. They will have additional time tonight to recover from the travel, and then we’ll hit the ground running on the training field on Friday.
// Springbok Assistant Coach, Mzwandile Stick
Mzwandile added that facing the Wallabies in Australia is always a significant challenge.
Having a few extra days to acclimatize and familiarize ourselves with the conditions will be invaluable. 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 we are really looking forward to the competition.
// Springbok Assistant Coach, Mzwandile Stick
Following their matches in Australia, the Springboks will return to South Africa to continue the competition against their arch-rivals New Zealand on 31 August 2024 in Johannesburg and 7 September 2024 in Cape Town. This will be followed by a short trip to Argentina to face Los Pumas in Santiago on Saturday, 21 September 2024, before wrapping up the tournament in Nelspruit against Argentina on Saturday, 28 September 2024.
Castle Lager Rugby Championship Saturday Fixtures:
• 10 August 2024: Australia vs SA (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
• 17 August 2024: Australia vs SA (Optus Stadium, Perth)
• 31 August 2024: SA vs New Zealand (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
• 7 September 2024: SA vs New Zealand (DHL Stadium, Cape Town)
• 21 September 2024: Argentina vs SA (Estadio Unico Madre Ciudades, Santiago)
• 28 September 2024: SA vs Argentina (Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit)
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