Latest news with #IncomingSeries
The South African
12 hours ago
- Sport
- The South African
Springboks shift gears as Rugby Championship looms
Rassie Erasmus lauded his the Springboks' first week of conditioning camp in Johannesburg ahead of the upcoming Rugby Championship. The Springboks concluded the first block of their Rugby Championship conditioning camp in Johannesburg on Thursday, earning coach Rassie Erasmus's approval. The players will spend the weekend with their families before reporting back for duty on Sunday. The first of their two-week camp included intense field and gym sessions, as well as strategic boardroom discussions. Erasmus emphasised that this preparation is vital ahead of a demanding championship featuring South Africa's greatest southern hemisphere rivals. 'We had an intense week of conditioning to get the players ready for a challenging campaign,' he said. 'We wanted players to shift mindset in preparation for different contests against Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina.' The players targeted specific areas needing improvement following the mid-year Incoming Series against Italy and Georgia. Erasmus noted that those concerns were now integrated into the training blocks. He added that Australia's recent performances against the British & Irish Lions showed their strength and that the Springboks must prepare both mentally and physically. Next week's focus will shift towards tactical preparation. The coaches plan to model opposition patterns and explore strategies to counter Australia's recent style of play. The Wallabies should arrive battle-hardened from their Lions tour, meaning the Springboks expect a high-intensity contest in the first two Tests, in Johannesburg on 16 August and Cape Town on 23 August respectively. Following South Africa's matches with Australia, the Springboks face New Zealand in back-to-back Tests in Auckland and Wellington on 6 and 13 September. They wrap up the championship with fixtures against Argentina in Durban on 27 September and London on 4 October. Erasmus also defended the inclusion of three stars from South Africa's U20 World Cup-winning squad, Pead, Hlekani, and Jooste, in the senior camp. He said that exposing young talent to top-level environments helps develop squad depth ahead of the 2027 World Cup. Overall, Erasmus called the first week a success, saying: 'We laid a good foundation. From next week, we'll focus more on what to expect from Australia.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
16 hours ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Rassie Erasmus pleased Springboks' 'mind-shift' during Rugby Championship preparation camp
Rassie Erasmus put the Springboks through their paces during a preparation camp for the Rugby Championship. Image: Backpagepix Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus says the first week of the team's conditioning camp in Johannesburg has laid a solid foundation for the forthcoming Rugby Championship, and momentum will be accelerated when the players reassemble on Sunday. The team wrapped up the first block of training on Thursday and will spend the weekend with their families before reporting for duty again in a few days, where they will continue to build on their structures for the opening leg of the tournament. The Boks play back-to-back Test matches against the Wallabies in Johannesburg on Saturday, August 16, and Cape Town on August 23. '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. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The Boks warmed up for the Rugby Championship with matches against the Barbarians, Italy (twice), and Georgia. 'We identified a few key areas of our game that we felt we needed to improve on after the Incoming Series, and we incorporated those areas into our training and conditioning blocks this week. 'The teams we will face in the next few months will ask different questions and pose different challenges, so it was important for the group to align on what to expect in the next few weeks, so this camp was vital in ensuring that we prepare adequately for what lies ahead,' the coach explained. The training camp featured a series of gym and field training sessions, as well as boardroom sessions, and Erasmus said they will delve deeper into the opposition from next week. 'We laid a good foundation this week, and next week we will zone more into what we expect from Australia and start developing plans to counter what we expect from them,' he said. 'They showed last week against the British and Irish Lions what they are capable of, so we need to be ready mentally and physically for what they will throw at us in South Africa.' The matches against Australia will be followed by successive Tests against the All Blacks in Auckland and Wellington (on September 6 and 13) and Los Pumas in Durban and London (on September 27 and October 4).
The Citizen
17 hours ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Foundation laid, Boks will zone in 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 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 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 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 wrap up their three-Test series against the British and Irish Lions on Saturday. 'Key areas to work on' '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. 'We identified a few key areas of our game that we felt we needed to improve on after the Incoming Series, and we incorporated those areas into our training and conditioning blocks this week. 'The teams we will face in the next few months will ask different questions and pose different challenges, so it was important for the group to align on what to expect in the next few weeks, so this camp was vital in ensuring that we prepare adequately for what lies ahead.' 'Zone in on Australia' The training camp featured a series of gym and field training sessions, as well as boardroom sessions, and Erasmus said they will delve deeper into the opposition from next week. 'We laid a good foundation this week, and next week we will zone more into what we expect from Australia and start developing plans to counter what we expect from them,' he said. 'They showed last week against the British and Irish Lions what they are capable of, so we need to be ready mentally and physically for what they will throw at us in South Africa.' The matches against Australia will be followed by successive Tests against the All Blacks in Auckland and Wellington (on 6 and 13 September) and Los Pumas in Durban and London (on 27 September and 4 October).
The South African
2 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
Rassie Erasmus reveals big change to Springbok plans
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus and his management are renowned for their meticulous and carefully-considered planning for each and every part of the season. With the start of the Rugby Championship now just over two weeks away, Erasmus has interestingly revealed he called the team into camp earlier than was initially planned, perhaps indicating that he was not entirely satisfied with what took place during the July internationals. Erasmus admitted that this week's training camp was not originally part of their schedule, but he said it would benefit the team on several fronts. 'These two weeks of camp will give us time to align as coaches, as well as on the conditioning aspects for the players and to take stock from a medical perspective, so it's important in assisting us to get to where we want to be against three good countries in the series.' The Springboks are currently on a four-match winning run so far this season following victories against the Barbarians and an Incoming Series clean-sweep against Italy and Georgia. 'We would have eight weeks of proper preparation before we take the field in the Rugby Championship, and we are pleased with the physicality that Italy and Georgia brought against us in the last few weeks,' Erasmus did clarify. 'We have another three weeks to prepare for the matches against Australia, so we'll be working hard on the training field in the next few weeks.' The Bok coach added: 'We always knew that our first few matches would not be as tough as the Rugby Championship, even though the opposition was competitive and physical, but we are now going up against teams with solid game plans and a different intensity. 'Australia would have also come off the British & Irish Lions Series by the time we face them, so it will be a challenging tournament.' Rugby Championship fixtures: 16 August: SA v Australia – Ellis Park, Johannesburg (17:10) 23 August: SA v Australia – DHL Stadium, Cape Town (17:10) 6 September: New Zealand v SA – Eden Park, Auckland (09:05) 13 September: New Zealand v SA – Sky Stadium, Wellington (09:05) 27 September: SA v Argentina – Kings Park, Durban (17:10) 4 October: Argentina v SA – Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, London (15:00) Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
TimesLIVE
23-07-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Erasmus names experience and young blood in Bok squad for Australia Tests
Three players from Junior Boks will train with senior team ahead of Rugby Championship kickoff Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus selected a strong 37-man squad for the first two Tests in the Rugby Championship against Australia, featuring 24 World Cup-winners and five players who made their Test debuts during their successful Incoming Series. The Bok coach also invited three young players who were members of the triumphant Junior Bok World Rugby Under-20 Championship squad — Bathobele Hlekani, Cheswill Jooste, and Haashim Pead — to train with the group during their two-week conditioning camp in Johannesburg starting on Sunday. The five players who earned their first Springbok Test caps in July are utility back Ethan Hooker, props Asenathi Ntlabakanye and Boan Venter, hooker Marnus van der Merwe and utility forward Cobus Wiese. Bath prop Thomas du Toit has been granted a compulsory two-week rest as agreed with the Gallagher Premiership, though he is eligible to be called up at any stage should the need arise. No 8 Jasper Wiese is serving a four-week suspension, ruling him out of this squad. Five tries in three starts 🇿🇦🔥 Has Edwill van der Merwe locked in his spot in The Rugby Championship squad? 🤔💭 #SSRugby — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 22, 2025 A handful of players have been released to their respective franchises to build up game time in the Currie Cup, though a few of them have been placed on standby for the Wallaby Tests. The standby players are centre Lukhanyo Am, who missed the July Tests due to a knee niggle; scrumhalf Faf de Klerk, wing Makazole Mapimpi, lock Salmaan Moerat, No 8 Evan Roos, prop Neethling Fouche and flank Vincent Tshituka. The squad has 20 forwards and 17 backline players. The Springboks face the Wallabies in Johannesburg on August 16 and Cape Town on August 23. 'It's always challenging to reduce the squad, especially given how the expanded group of players put up their hands during the Incoming Series, but we always said we would select a smaller, more manageable squad during the Rugby Championship,' Erasmus said. 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: Rassie Erasmus has named his squad that will face the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship next month 🇿🇦 Bathobele Hlekani, Cheswill Jooste and Haashim Pead have been invited to train with the group during their two-week conditioning camp in Joburg. #SSRugby — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) July 23, 2025 'This group includes several experienced players and a few younger guys who grabbed their chances in the last few Tests, so we are pleased with this squad for the first two matches. 'We have informed the players on standby what our plans are and what we expect from them so all of them are ready to step up if needed.' Erasmus elaborated on the composition of the squad. 'We probably have three players who can cover each position, which is important in this competition. 'One of our key pillars as a team is to build squad depth, and there is no better way to see what some of the younger players are capable of than to expose them to some of the top teams in the world.' Erasmus expects a completely different challenge in the Rugby Championship to that against the Barbarians, Italy, and Georgia. 'Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina are all ranked in the top seven in the world and if one considers we won the Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019 last year, it is clear this will be a completely different kettle of fish. 'All three teams have beaten us in the last few years and they play a different style of rugby to the other opposition we have faced thus far, but we are pleased with the foundation we laid in the last few weeks and we know exactly what areas of our game we need to work on.' Erasmus will announce his squad for the two-match tour to New Zealand in September before making the journey Down Under, where they will face their arch-rivals at Eden Park in Auckland on September 6, and the Sky Stadium in Wellington on September 13. The Boks wrap up their campaign with Tests against Argentina in Durban on September 27 and in London on October 4. Springbok squad Forwards: Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Jean-Luc du Preez (Bordeaux Begles), Eben Etzebeth (Sharks), Vincent Koch (Sharks), Siya Kolisi (Sharks), Wilco Louw (Bulls), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks), Franco Mostert (Honda Heat), Ox Nche (Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Bulls), Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Marco van Staden (Bulls), Boan Venter (Edinburgh), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Bulls), Cobus Wiese (Bulls) Backs: Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), André Esterhuizen (Sharks), Aphelele Fassi (Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers), Ethan Hooker (Sharks), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Cheslin Kolbe (Tokyo Sungoliath), Willie le Roux (Bulls), Manie Libbok (Stormers), Canan Moodie (Bulls), Handré Pollard (Bulls), Cobus Reinach (Stormers), Edwill van der Merwe (Sharks), Morne van den Berg (Lions), Grant Williams (Sharks), Damian Willemse (Stormers)
