Boks gearing up for testing Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said on Tuesday the team were gearing up for a testing Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign, which kicks off against the Wallabies on Saturday 16 August in Johannesburg, and stressed the importance of their two-week training camp saying it was vital in ensuring that the coaches, players, and entire management team were aligned and prepared for the competition.

The Springboks won the prestigious tournament last year for the first time since 2019 in an impressive campaign in which they suffered only one defeat – against Argentina by a single point in Santiago del Estero – and Erasmus’ charges will go full-out to defend their title and retain the Freedom Cup (against New Zealand) and Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate (against Australia) this year.

The Boks will begin their campaign with back-to-back Tests against the Wallabies in Johannesburg and Cape Town, before facing the All Blacks in successive matches in Auckland and Wellington, before returning to Durban to face Argentina, and then travel to London, where they will wrap up their campaign against Los Pumas.

We are always careful about the opposition in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship,” said Erasmus.

“Australia showed last weekend that they have what it takes to win a match against a team like the British & Irish Lions, and they have an opportunity to try to achieve that this weekend, so we are expecting tough battles against them, as well as New Zealand and Argentina.”

With the Boks on a four-match winning run so far this season following victories against the Barbarians and a Castle Lager Incoming Series clean-sweep against Italy and Georgia, to add to their training camp weeks, Erasmus said: “We would have eight weeks of proper preparation before we take the field in the Castle lager Rugby Championship, and we are pleased with the physicality that Italy and Georgia brought against us in the last few weeks.

“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 Castle Lager 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.”

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.”

Responding to questions about including the three Young Guns, Bathobele Hlekani, Cheswill Jooste, and Haashim Pead – all of whom were members of the Junior Springbok team that won the World Rugby U20 Championship for the first time since 2012 – in the squad for the conditioning camp, Erasmus said: “The coaches will be involved in the team until 2027, so it’s important for us to continue developing our depth and ensuring that we have at least three players to pick from in each position.

“We don’t see the Young Guns playing Test matches this year, but exposing them to this environment and allowing them to participate in all our boardroom and field sessions is great for them to learn.

“They’ve fitted in well and they appear to be enjoying it, while it’s also good for the more experienced players to see the talent that is coming through the ranks.”

The Springboks will wrap up the first week of their training camp on Thursday afternoon and spend the weekend with their families, before re-assembling in Johannesburg on Sunday to continue their on-field preparations.