The Springboks have changed up their travel plans to Australia to give them the best possible chance of beating the Wallabies in next Saturday’s Rugby Championship opener in Brisbane.
The Springboks don’t have the greatest record in Australia. Despite winning back-to-back World Cups in 2019 and 2023, the Springboks have lost four of their last five matches Down Under, even though the Wallabies have been in a steady decline.
The Wallabies beat the Springboks in back-to-back Tests in 2021, and won the first Rugby Championship Test between the two teams in 2022 at the famous Adelaide Oval, before the Boks bounced back a week later in Sydney.
Brisbane has also been very unkind to the Springboks over the years, with the Boks losing their last four matches at the Suncorp Stadium. The last time the South Africans won a match in the city was in 2013, when Heyneke Meyer’s Springboks beat the Aussies 38-12.
The Springboks touched down in Australia on Thursday, a lot earlier than their normal travel plans Down Under. Coach Rassie Erasmus mentioned this week that they wanted to get a few sessions under the belt to get rid of the jet lag before going into “a normal Test week” ahead of the clash.
A few snaps from training today 🔥![CDATA[]]>💪#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/Ug9djtdrIC
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 30, 2024
“The players will have additional time to recover from the travel, and then we’ll hit the ground running on the training field on Friday,” said Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick.
“Having a few extra days to acclimatise and familiarise ourselves with the conditions will be invaluable.”
The Springboks had a tough two-Test series against Ireland, which ended 1-1 and with a few key players suffering injuries.
The fringe players than had good hit outs against Wales in London and Portugal in Bloemfontein, which would have given Erasmus and his staff a good indication of who will face the Wallabies.
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Rugby has always been part of his life 🏉
Episode 5: Rassie Erasmus on falling in love with rugby ▶️#ForeverGreenForeverGold #Springboks pic.twitter.com/l6wZ0ic3y6
The Australians started life under new coach New Zealander Joe Schmidt with two wins against Wales and a victory in the one-off Test against Georgia.
Stick is wary of the challenge the Australians will bring despite them dropping down to ninth in the World Rugby rankings.
“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,” said Stick.
“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.”
@JohnGoliath82