Finally, Boks can turn attention to the main job — the 2023 Rugby World Cup

And now for the World Cup!

The pre-tournament training is done, the warm-up games are over … it is now time for the Springboks to focus on the real deal — the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

In just over two weeks’ time, on September 10 (5.45pm), the Boks kick off their challenge with an opening Pool B game against Scotland in Marseille.

The defending champions from Japan in 2019 also have pool games against Romania in Bordeaux (September 17, 3pm), Ireland in Paris (September 23, 9pm) and Tonga back in Marseille (October 1, 9pm), before the knockout rounds, should they advance that far.

Stay in Corsica

Before heading to the French mainland to ramp up their preparations for the opening game against Scotland, Jacques Nienaber and his men will head to the Mediterranean island of Corsica close to the south of France where they will be based until next Sunday.

Then it’s off to Toulon, which will serve as the Boks’ home base during the tournament.

“The Corsica camp will be ideal for the players to adapt to the conditions in France while fine-tuning our preparations for our first World Cup game,” said Nienaber.

“We reaped the rewards of spending time in Japan before the 2019 tournament and hopefully this camp will be equally beneficial in getting the players used to the climate and the culture of France.”

By the time the first game comes around for the Boks they would have spent many days together in a number of different locations — as they did in the build-up to the successful tournament in Japan four years ago.

Preparations

World Cup-specific preparations for the 2023 tournament started as early as January this year with the holding of several alignment camps in Cape Town and Durban before proper on-field training got underway with a camp in Pretoria, ahead of the shortened Rugby Championship.

The Boks then played Test matches in Pretoria (Australia, win), Auckland (New Zealand, loss) and Joburg (Argentina, win) in the Rugby Championship before flying to Buenos Aires in Argentina for a World Cup warm-up game, which they won, before the naming of the 33-man World Cup squad, in Joburg.

Further warm-up games took place in Cardiff against Wales last weekend and, finally, on Friday night, in London against the All Blacks.

Squad

The 56-member Bok World Cup squad made up of 33 players and 23 coaching and support staff, will be based in Toulon in France, with matches in Marseille, Bordeaux and Paris.

The Boks’ quarter-final, should they qualify, against either New Zealand or France, will also take place in Saint-Denis, Paris.

And, should the Boks go all the way to the World Cup final, which will be held on October 28, they would have spent 78 days together in Europe since leaving these shores on August 12, four days after the squad announcement.

If you factor in all the camps and other matches played this year, the players and coaches would have been in each other’s company for 161 days.