“Ready For Test Mode” — Rassie
The Springboks wrapped up their Nations Championship training camp in Johannesburg on Thursday, with head coach Rassie Erasmus satisfied that the necessary building blocks are in place as the squad prepares to switch into full Test mode ahead of next week’s competition opener against England at Ellis Park.
Erasmus’ charges travelled from Gqeberha to Johannesburg last Sunday and enjoyed a productive week of training, which concluded on Thursday afternoon. The players will spend the weekend with their families before reassembling at their Johannesburg training base on Sunday to begin their official Test-week preparations.
The match against England will kick off at 17:40 on Saturday, 4 July, and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
“We had a productive training week, which gave us the opportunity to work on the lessons we took from our matches against the Barbarians and Zimbabwe, so it was certainly a valuable week for the team,” said Erasmus.
“England are a quality outfit and will present a completely different challenge to the one we faced against the Barbarians. They are a settled squad and come into the match on the back of a Six Nations campaign.
“However, we are pleased that we had the opportunity to give our players invaluable game time before the Nations Championship begins.
“The team is aligned on the expectations and standards going into the competition, and we are pleased with the hard work the players put in this week. We are now ready to get the international season into full swing next week.”
The England clash will be followed by matches against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, 11 July, and Wales at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban on 18 July.
