Jacques Nienaber: Springboks travel hiccup has not impacted preparations for Australia Tests

Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber insists their delayed flight to Australia has not hampered their preparations for their two Tests against the Wallabies down under.

Nienaber and his side were initially scheduled to depart for Australia on Thursday, but their flight was cancelled, forcing the world champions to leave a day later.

Operational staff adapted well

The coach insists the delay has not influenced preparations and commended his operational staff for their adaptability and efforts in dealing with the situation.

“The players rested well on the plane, and everyone is excited to be in Australia and looking forward to our two Tests against the Wallabies,” said Nienaber.

“I must commend our operational staff for the swift manner in which they dealt with the cancellation of our original flight and for making things as simple as possible for the team to hop onto the next available flight.

“The professional manner in which the situation was dealt with resulted in minimal disruption to our programme, which is certainly pleasing from a coaching perspective.”

The first clash between the sides will be in Adelaide on August 27, where the Springboks will be looking to claim their first win in Australia since 2013.

Searching for first win in Australia since 2013

Nienaber will see this tour as an opportunity to break their winless streak as the Wallabies negotiate an injury crisis and poor form after Argentina claimed a record 48-17 victory over Australia last time out.

“The team will have flush-out gym sessions in the next two days to recover from the travel, and we will follow our usual Test week programme from tomorrow,” said Nienaber.

“This is going to be a massive week for us, and everyone understands the importance of ensuring that they recover as well as possible so that we can train full out on Monday as we look to get our Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign back on track.

“We haven’t beaten Australia at home since 2013, so we are under no illusions about the challenge that lies ahead. We will have to be at our best to start our tour on a positive note.”

The race for the Rugby Championship title is wide open as each team has claimed a win apiece in the first two rounds of the southern hemisphere competition.

Rounds three and four also see Argentina travel to New Zealand for two Tests against a resurgent All Blacks side, with coach Ian Foster still at the helm after being backed by New Zealand Rugby earlier this week.

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