Rassie Erasmus likens Springboks’ All Blacks series to Rugby World Cup knockouts

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says the four-Test Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) series against New Zealand will feel like the knockout stages of a Rugby World Cup, with South Africa facing one of the world’s best teams in successive weeks.

The series begins next Saturday, 22 August, when the Springboks meet the All Blacks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The opening match follows South Africa’s 17-10 victory over Argentina in Buenos Aires last week.

Erasmus and his squad completed two important days of training on Saturday as preparations moved into their final phase. The main objective was to bring the entire group together and ensure the players and coaching staff were aligned ahead of the opening Test.

The travelling squad, made up of 26 players and a number of coaches, returned to South Africa in two groups on Monday night and Tuesday. Much of the week was devoted to recovery sessions and gym work as the players adjusted to the local time zone and recovered from the demanding Test against Los Pumas.

South Africa returned to outdoor training on Friday and followed that with another field session on Saturday. The players were then given the next day and a half off to spend time with their families before beginning a full Test-week programme.

Johan Grobbelaar and Elrigh Louw, who were released to play for the Bulls against the All Blacks on Saturday evening, are due to rejoin the national squad on Sunday.

“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 knockout 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 fine-tune the areas of our game that we would like to improve next week as we get ready to take the field.”

The teams will contest four consecutive Tests during the RGR series. After the opener in Johannesburg, the second match will be played at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on 29 August.

The rivalry then returns to Johannesburg for the third Test at FNB Stadium on 5 September, before the series concludes in the United States at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on 12 September.

The first match is scheduled to kick off at 17:10 next Saturday and will be broadcast live.