Erasmus gives Boks thumbs up, date set for first squad announcement of 2024

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says the foundation has been laid for the team ahead of an exciting 2024 rugby season, which will see the world champions from 2019 and 2023 play 13 Tests this year.

The Boks kick off their season with a match against Wales in London on June 22.

Erasmus was speaking after the Bok squad’s second alignment camp in Cape Town on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

A group of 38 players assembled in the Mother City to familiarise themselves with the Bok team’s structures and plans for the season ahead.

‘New systems’

“This camp was extremely valuable in exposing the players to detailed aspects of the game which we would like to implement this season,” said Erasmus.

“At the first two alignment camps we adopted a broader view of what the coaching staff will look at when it comes to team selection and to introduce the players to the coaches and their ideas, and especially the new members of the coaching team in Tony Brown and Jerry Flannery and national laws advisor Jaco Peyper.

“With our first Test less than a month away, it was vital that we started introducing the players to our new systems, so that they have sufficient time to familiarise themselves with these structures as we plan to select the group of players for the Wales Test and Incoming Series.”

The Wales Test will be followed by back-to-back Tests against Ireland in Pretoria and Durban, before the Boks take on Portugal in a first ever meeting between the teams in Bloemfontein in the middle of July.

The Rugby Championship will follow later in the year.

Squad announcement

“It was great to see the enthusiasm among the players and witness first-hand how they soaked in everything in as they attempt to stake a claim for places in the national team, and we believe this will set us in good stead as a squad for the upcoming season.

“As a coaching team this camp allowed us to get a better understanding of the players and their skills to give them enough detail to work on in the next few weeks before we gather for the first official training camp which will be hosted in June.”

Players from the Sharks – who are playing in the EPCR Challenge Cup final against Gloucester at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Friday night – were excused from the camp.

The Springboks will gather in Pretoria on Sunday 9 June to begin their on-field preparations for the season, with the Test squad for the Wales match set to be named soon after the conclusion of the United Rugby Championship quarter-finals on Saturday 8 June.