Rassie Erasmus reveals big change to Springbok plans
With the start of the Rugby Championship now just over two weeks away, Erasmus has interestingly revealed he called the team into camp earlier than was initially planned, perhaps indicating that he was not entirely satisfied with what took place during the July internationals.
Erasmus admitted that this week's training camp was not originally part of their schedule, but he said it would benefit the team on several fronts.
'These two weeks of camp will give us time to align as coaches, as well as on the conditioning aspects for the players and to take stock from a medical perspective, so it's important in assisting us to get to where we want to be against three good countries in the series.'
The Springboks are currently on a four-match winning run so far this season following victories against the Barbarians and an Incoming Series clean-sweep against Italy and Georgia.
'We would have eight weeks of proper preparation before we take the field in the Rugby Championship, and we are pleased with the physicality that Italy and Georgia brought against us in the last few weeks,' Erasmus did clarify.
'We have another three weeks to prepare for the matches against Australia, so we'll be working hard on the training field in the next few weeks.'
The Bok coach added: 'We always knew that our first few matches would not be as tough as the Rugby Championship, even though the opposition was competitive and physical, but we are now going up against teams with solid game plans and a different intensity.
'Australia would have also come off the British & Irish Lions Series by the time we face them, so it will be a challenging tournament.'
Rugby Championship fixtures:
16 August: SA v Australia – Ellis Park, Johannesburg (17:10)
23 August: SA v Australia – DHL Stadium, Cape Town (17:10)
6 September: New Zealand v SA – Eden Park, Auckland (09:05)
13 September: New Zealand v SA – Sky Stadium, Wellington (09:05)
27 September: SA v Argentina – Kings Park, Durban (17:10)
4 October: Argentina v SA – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, London (15:00)
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