If Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus was looking for a boost ahead of the always-difficult tour to Australia, he has received it in the form of a significant diminishing of the injury cloud of the past few weeks.
The world champions finished a bruising series against Ireland with a host of players seemingly badly crocked, but this has changed.
Vital players Malcolm Marx and Pieter-Steph du Toit travelled with the squad to Australia yesterday, while several others on the injury list will be fit to play the All Blacks in two Tests after the return from Down Under.
Erasmus said that Steven Kitshoff will get game time on this tour after a long injury, and the plan is to have him fully up to speed for the All Blacks.
“Kitsie needs to play some rugby. Malcolm is 90% likely to play in the first Test, but we need him to train fully on Monday. That’s why we have taken Jan-Hendrik Wessels – he can cover loosehead prop and hooker,” said Erasmus.
“Pieter-Steph will also be ready to play next week (in Brisbane), and that makes our team selection interesting because we can play around with the bench selection, picking two locks or two loose forwards in a six-two split because he can cover number five.
“But that must be a fit Pieter-Steph. He had a bit of a bruised knee, and now he has the flu. So, he couldn’t train fully for us over the last few days.”
Where do we even begin.🤌
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 23, 2024
The energy was off the charts.🙌
Thank you Bloem.🫶#ForeverGreenForeverGold #Springboks pic.twitter.com/8z9d6EyCJg
Erasmus delivered promising news on Faf de Klerk, Canan Moodie and Damian Willemse. He expects them to be available for selection for the August 31 clash against the Kiwis at Ellis Park.
The Boks will also welcome Jasper Wiese and André Esterhuizen back from suspensions in time for the arrival of the New Zealanders.
“Suddenly, there’s almost nobody injured in the 33-man squad,” the happy coach said. “Faf has a bit of a groin strain, which won’t take too long to heal.
“Jaden Hendrikse is coming back. Canan is ready to play next week, and Damian (Willemse) in another three weeks.”
Erasmus said he is pleased with the building blocks put in place during the games against Ireland and Portugal, and over the past few days in Johannesburg.
The Boks had a two-day training camp before departing for Australia yesterday, where they will face the Wallabies on August 10 in Brisbane and a week later in Perth.
“We had a few good field and gym sessions on Monday and Tuesday, and some of the players come off a well-deserved rest, while the younger players are beaming with excitement about this tour,” the former loose forward said.
A few snaps from training today 🔥💪#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/Ug9djtdrIC
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 30, 2024
“So, we are travelling to Australia with good groundwork in place, and hopefully that pays off.
“We’ll arrive in Australia on Thursday and have training sessions on Friday and Saturday, so we’ll get straight into the swing of things as soon as possible to acclimatise to the conditions and environment, and hit the ground running in the hope of getting the tour off to a good start.”
Commenting on what he expected from the Wallabies, Erasmus said: “They are a well-coached team, and they have a new coach in Joe Schmidt.
“They also are very detail-focused, and they have a few new players who we haven’t encountered before, so we have no doubt they’ll give everything.”
The double Rugby World Cup-winning coach admitted that while their track record in Australia was not ideal, they do not believe in excuses, and will give their best to change their fortunes away to the Wallabies.
“We are playing against an Australian team that have historically performed well at home, so we want to correct the mistakes we made in the last few games – and just as they would like to, we want to win both matches in Australia,” said Erasmus.
“There was pressure on us in 2019, during the British & Irish Lions tour in 2021, and in the World Cup last year. And we know that people expect us to win, but as always, we’ll give our best on the field, and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”