The Springbok coaches will have a few tricky selections to make when they unveil the Rugby Championship squad this week.
The Springboks departed Bloemfontein on Sunday, and the players selected for coach Rassie Erasmus’ Rugby Championship squad will assemble in Johannesburg this weekend for a short preparation camp before departing for Australia the following Wednesday., 22 July, and the good news is that World Cup winners such as Pieter-Steph du Toit and Steven Kitshoff have been given the all clear after injury scares.
“The big thing about games like this is that you get to learn the players’ characters. The red card did mean we had to adjust,” Erasmus commented. “We had Duane on the side of the field, we had Jerry on the side of the field, and he had to make plans around not having a blindside wing. “We had seven new guys on the field who would all have been understandably nervous playing their first test match. They could easily have been rattled so it was a big learning and I was very pleased with how it went. You can’t compare a game against Portugal with what the guys faced the previous week when they played Ireland, but I am satisfied. We played well.
“The most important thing is that we have a bigger group of players now after this game. There are more players who can play for the Boks and they are knocking on the door. We must find a way to open that door for them.”The Springboks are next in action against Australia at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 10 August. They will face the Wallabies in Perth a week later before then taking on New Zealand and Argentina in back-to-back Tests.
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