Boks feeling upbeat Down Under
The Springboks have arrived in Australia ahead of their The Rugby Championship opener next Saturday.
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 earlier today following an overnight flight from Johannesburg and took the day off to recover from the long journey before they resume their on-field preparations tomorrow.
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 last night.
The Boks will kick off this year’s edition of The Rugby Championship at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on August 10, before making the trip to Perth for their second clash against the Wallabies on August 17 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 August 18 where they will continue the competition against the All Blacks on August 31 in Johannesburg and September 7 in Cape Town.
This will be followed by a short trip to Argentina to face Los Pumas in Santiago on September 21, before they wrap up the tournament in Mbombela against Argentina on September 28.
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