The Springboks head to New Zealand hoping to conquer one of the greatest challenges in rugby, writes JON CARDINELLI.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus stuck to his tried and tested combinations for their third Castle Lager Rugby Championship encounter against the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday, making only four changes to the starting team that beat the Wallabies in Cape Town, with Jesse Kriel retaining the captaincy.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus stuck to the players who did duty for the team in their opening two Castle Lager Rugby Championship matches against Australia for their tour to New Zealand, where they will play back-to-back Tests against the All Blacks next month.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus welcomed a morale-boosting victory over Australia at DHL Stadium in Cape Town but said the hopes of retaining the Castle Lager Rugby Championship still rested on victory in New Zealand.
Experienced campaigners Ayanda Malinga, Danelle Lochner and Lindelwa Gwala will return to the Springbok Women match-23 for Saturday’s second international friendly against the Black Ferns XV as Swys de Bruin again tweaked combinations for their final match before the Rugby World Cup in England next month.
Final tweaks aside, a positive result will be massively important for the Springbok Women when they take on the Black Ferns XV at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday, as this will be their final match before the Rugby World Cup starts in England next month.
They were caught napping at times and were outplayed at others, but the Springbok Women resumed their training on Monday with renewed energy as they prepare to take on New Zealand’s Black Ferns XV for a second time this weekend.
The Springbok Women took another positive step towards the Rugby World Cup in England as they recovered from being outplayed by New Zealand’s Black Ferns XV in the first half of their match at Athlone Stadium on Saturday, to “winning” the second half.
Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote credited his team’s renowned, trademark South African grit and fighting spirit for their victory over New Zealand in the World Rugby U20 Championship final in Italy.
The Junior Springboks became the third South African team to claim world champion status by outplaying New Zealand 23-15 in the World Rugby U20 Championship Final in Rovigo on Saturday night.