Durban — Apart from a dealing with an injury crisis in the flyhalf position, Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber believes the first week of the training camp in Pretoria went smoothly.
The 40-man squad have another two weeks of preparation to go, until June 30, and then the following week they switch into Test-match mode for the big Rugby Championship opener against Australia on July 8, also in Pretoria.
The training group, which was announced last Saturday, had a handful of training and gym sessions as well as several team meetings as they gear up for the match against Eddie Jones’ Wallabies.
“We are very happy with the opening week of our training camp,” said Nienaber. “It was great to have the players here, and to get them back into the swing of things both in terms of the intensity of our training sessions and to get everyone aligned with our structures off the field.
“This group comprises players from 19 clubs, so it was vital to get everyone on the same page in terms of how we do things.”
Nienaber added: “The players were very excited to see one another when we got together on Sunday and to get the season underway.
“As coaches we are also pleased with the quality of our training sessions and to see how determined the players are to participate in the Rugby Championship and stake a claim for places in the Rugby World Cup squad.”
The current squad will be expanded to 41 players from Sunday with the addition of the experienced Elton Jantjies, who will provide flyhalf cover due to the injuries suffered by Handre Pollard (leg) and Damian Willemse (knee).
The squad had their last field training session for the week on Friday and will assemble again on Sunday after a well-deserved weekend break.
They will be joined by utility forward Jean-Luc du Preez later this month.
After playing the Wallabies, the Boks travel to New Zealand for a Test against the All Blacks in Auckland (15 July), before returning to South Africa for their closing match of the tournament against Argentina in Johannesburg (29 July).
They will then play three Rugby World Cup warm-up matches: against Argentina in Buenos Aires (5 August), Wales in Cardiff (19 August) and New Zealand in London (25 August) before departing for the Rugby World Cup in France.
IOL Sport