Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said the Springboks arrived in Australia in high spirits and ready to tackle the Wallabies in their 2024 Rugby Championship opener.
The Boks touched down on Thursday following an overnight flight from Johannesburg and will have the rest of the day off to recover from the long journey before resuming their on-field preparations on Friday.
Rassie Erasmus’ 33-man squad laid a good foundation for the two-Test tour in Johannesburg on Monday and Tuesday before departing for Brisbane via Sydney on Wednesday evening.
The Boks will kick off this year’s edition of the Rugby Championship at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday, 10 August, before making the trip to Perth for their second clash against the Wallabies on Saturday, 17 August at the Optus Stadium.
“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,” said Stick.
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“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.”
Stick added that facing the Wallabies in Australia is always a big challenge: “Having a few extra days to acclimatise and familiarise 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.”
The Boks will return to South Africa on Sunday, 18 August where they will continue the competition against the All Blacks on 31 August in Johannesburg and 7 September in Cape Town.
This will be followed by a short trip to Argentina to face Los Pumas in Santiago on Saturday, 21 September, before they wrap up the tournament in Nelspruit against Argentina on Saturday, 28 September.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
