Springboks switch into full RGR mode in Johannesburg

'It's a new and exciting challenge, and we have been putting in a lot of work behind the scenes.' Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus and his charges concluded an important two days of training on Saturday where the objective was to get the entire squad aligned with an eye on the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) series starting next Saturday against the All Blacks in Johannesburg following the Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires last week. The travelling squad, which included 26 players and a host of coaches, returned to South Africa in two groups on Monday night and Tuesday, and spent most of the week having flush-out and gym sessions to get the players back into the local time zone and match ready following the physical Test against Los Pumas, which the Boks won 17-10. The squad returned to the training field on Friday and had another field session on Saturday before having the next day and a half off to spend time with their families before switching into full blown Test week for their RGR series opener. The teams will play four back-to-back Tests against New Zealand, starting with Saturday’s encounter at Ellis Park (22 August), before moving to Cape Town for the second Test at the Cape Town Stadium (29 August), the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg (5 September), and concluding the series at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore (12 September). Bok hooker Johan Grobbelaar and utility forward Elrigh Louw, who have been released to play for the Bulls in their RGR match against the All Blacks on Saturday evening, will rejoin the national squad on Sunday. ‘Important to manage players’ “It was important to manage the players who travelled to Argentina well and afford them sufficient time to recover from the match and switch back into the domestic time zone, which is why we only started training as a full group late in the week,” said Erasmus. “But we are pleased that the players are well recovered and ready to give everything for the forthcoming Tests against the All Blacks. “It will undoubtedly be a very challenging tournament, but we are looking forward to it as a collective. This series is almost like playing the knock-out stages of a Rugby World Cup because we are facing one of the world’s best week in and week out, and we all understand the magnitude of the RGR series. “It’s a new and exciting challenge, and we have been putting in a lot of work behind the scenes, especially the group of coaches and players who remained behind in South Africa in the last two weeks, so we will finetune the areas of our game, which we would like to improve next week as we get ready to take the field.” The opening match kicks off at 5.10pm next Saturday, and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.