FOUNDATION SET, BOKS FOCUSES ON WALLABIES NEXT WEEK- RASSIE

The reigning world champions will be first up in the Rugby Championship against Australia in two Tests in South Africa

The reigning world champions will be up against Australia in two Tests, in Joburg and Cape Town, on 16 and 23 August to get their Rugby Championship campaign under way. The Springboks wrapped up their first week of training on Thursday ahead of this year’s Rugby Championship and will next week turn their attention to their first Test in the competition, against the Wallabies.

The Boks have been in camp in Joburg this week, but will now have the weekend off before regrouping next week.

Bok boss Rassie Erasmus said it was vital to first get all the players on the same page and up to speed about the coaching team’s requirements and expectations before turning their focus to the Wallabies. The Australia wraps up their three-Test series against the British and Irish Lions on Saturday.

“We had an intense week of conditioning to get the players ready for what will undoubtedly be a challenging Rugby Championship campaign against some of the top teams in the world, so we are pleased with the strides made and the mind-shift the players made for what will be a completely different contest against Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina,” said Erasmus on Thursday.