The Springboks, including players from the Sharks and Vodacom Bulls, will assemble in Durban in May for two camps to prepare for the 2023 Test season.

The first camp will take place from May 17-19, with the second camp running from May 29-31.

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Fifteen players have been invited, but the group excludes players from the DHL Stormers, who are preparing for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final this weekend.

The Boks will begin their official preparations for the Rugby Championship at a training camp in Pretoria from June 12-30, with the team slotting into test-match mode the following week for their opening match of the southern hemisphere showpiece against Australia at Loftus Versfeld on July 8.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber’s charges will then depart for New Zealand for their second test of the condensed version of the competition against the All Blacks at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland (July 15), before returning to South Africa for the closing match of the competition against Argentina in Johannesburg (July 29).

“With the Vodacom United Rugby Championship nearing an end and the Castle Lager Rugby Championship around the corner we decided to host two camps to get the ball rolling and get everyone on the same page for the international season,” says Nienaber.

“The camps will include both off and on-field sessions and they will offer us a great opportunity to get the building blocks in place for our first full-on training camp in June in preparation for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in July.

“These camps will build on those we hosted in Cape Town and Stellenbosch respectively at the end of February and March, which included a bunch of locally based players.”

Nienaber added that with a little over four months to go before the World Cup kicks off, every day with the players would count: “The Rugby Championship is around the corner, and then we have three warm-up games and the World Cup, so we have very little time to get all our plans in place and ensure we peak in terms of our performance to give us the best possible chance to defend our title in France.

“This is a crucial season, and it is imperative that we make important strides in each match we play and grow stronger together as team.”

Players invited to Springbok camps (in alphabetical order):

Lukhanyo Am (Sharks), Kurt-Lee Arendse (Vodacom Bulls), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Jaden Hendrikse, Siya Kolisi (all Sharks), Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz), Makazole Mapimpi, Bongi Mbonambi (both Sharks), Canan Moodie (Vodacom Bulls), Ox Nche (Sharks), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), Marco van Staden (Vodacom Bulls), Grant Williams (Cell C Sharks).

Springbok 2023 fixtures:

Rugby Championship:

• July 8 – Springboks vs Australia (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
  
• July 15 – Springboks vs New Zealand (Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland)
  
• July 29 – Springboks vs Argentina (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)

RWC warm-up fixtures:

• August 5 – Springboks v Argentina (Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires)
  
• August 19 – Springboks vs Wales (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
  
• August 25 – Springboks vs New Zealand (Twickenham, London)

RWC fixtures:

• September 10 – Springboks v Scotland (Stade Marseille, Marseille)
  
• September 17 – Springboks v Romania (Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
  
• September 23 – Springboks v Ireland (Stade de France, Paris)
  
• October 1 – Springboks v Tonga (Stade Marseille, Marseille)
  
• Weekend of October 14/15 – Quarterfinals
  
• Weekend of October 21/22 – Semi-finals
  
• October 28 – Final