Springboks ‘in a good position’ says Rassie Erasmus ahead of second alignment camp
The Springboks at training and Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus.
The Springboks’ second in-person alignment camp will get underway in Cape Town on Wednesday – one month before their first Test of the season against Wales in London on June 22 – with a group of 38 players assembling.
The world champions hosted their first alignment camp in March before having several online alignment sessions with selected locally based and overseas players replacing the initial plan of an in-person camp early in May, due to most of the players being involved at northern hemisphere clubs at the time.
Sharks players to miss the camp
The Sharks’ players – who are playing in the EPCR Challenge Cup final against Gloucester at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Friday – have been excused from this week’s two-day camp.
The meet-up follows a two-day coaches’ strategic session hosted last weekend where the building blocks were put in place for the alignment camp.
“We are moving into a new cycle as a group as our first Test is only a few weeks away, so it is vital that we start diving deeper into our on-field planning,” said Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus.
“In the first two camps we presented our wider plans to the players and introduced the new ideas presented by all the coaches and especially the new additions to the coaching team in Tony Brown, Jerry Flannery and Jaco Peyer, so we are in a good position to start zooming into different areas of the game in more detail.”
Erasmus added: “With our first Test around the corner it will be great to have everyone together and ensure that the coaches and players are 100% aligned in terms of what we want to achieve and how we plan to approach the season.
“We have a challenging year lined up as the Test against Wales falls outside of the international window, and then we play two Tests against Ireland, the second-ranked team in the world, and our first Test against Portugal in the Castle Lager Incoming Series.
“We then move on to the Castle Lager Rugby Championship which kicks off with back-to-back away Tests against Australia, followed by two Tests against New Zealand in South Africa, and two matches against Argentina, away and at home.
“Our Castle Lager Outgoing Tour will also serve as a thorough test with matches against Scotland, England and Wales lined up, so the sooner we are aligned as a group, the better.”
Springbok fixtures for 2024
Saturday, June 22: SA vs Wales (Twickenham, London)
Saturday, July 6: SA vs Ireland (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday, July 13: SA vs Ireland (Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban)
Saturday, July 20: SA vs Portugal (Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein)
Saturday, August 10: Australia vs SA (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
Saturday, August 17: Australia vs SA (Optus Stadium, Perth)
Saturday, August 31: SA vs New Zealand (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
Saturday, September 7: SA v New Zealand (DHL Stadium, Cape Town)
Saturday, September 21: Argentina v SA (Estadio Unico Madre Ciudades, Santiago)
Saturday, September 28: SA v Argentina (Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit)
Sunday, November 10: Scotland vs SA (Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
Saturday, November 16: England vs SA (Twickenham, London)
Saturday, November 23: Wales vs SA (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
READ MORE: SA Rugby boss responds after report criticises Springboks over ‘transformation’ failure
