Springboks: Rassie Erasmus’ ‘make our country proud’ pledge ahead of Wallabies Test as boss assesses ‘different challenge’
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus hopes his side can make their country proud against the Wallabies
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus hopes his side can make their country proud, ahead of their one-off Test against the Wallabies in Perth.
The Boks travel to Australia off the back of a 3-1 victory over the All Blacks in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, but face a Wallabies side on the up after their own series victory against Los Pumas earlier this month.
Erasmus has also kept the travelling squad together from the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry finale in Baltimore, with the party touching down on Australian soil.
‘We will continue to do everything we can next week to make our country proud’
While the Springboks yet again come into the one-off Test as favourites, given their status as the number one side in the World Rugby rankings, Erasmus is aware of the threat his opposition poses.
“We always knew how tough the matches against Argentina and in RGR against the All Blacks would be, and we factored that into our preparation,” he said.
“Both Argentina and the All Blacks tested us thoroughly, and we have no doubt that we will be facing a determined Wallabies side that will want to put on a good show in front of their home crowd, and they will present a completely different challenge to that which we have faced in the last few Test matches.
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
“The Wallabies have been playing well, and we have no doubt they will come out firing in this match, which will require another full 80-minute performance from us to get the desired result next weekend.”
However, the Springboks also come into the Test off the back of a heavy block of travelling, arriving in Sydney from Baltimore via a connecting flight from Dallas and flew to America directly after their victory in Test Three of the series against the All Blacks.
“The players had a day off in Baltimore on Sunday before we embarked on the journey to Australia,” Erasmus explained. “We obviously factored the impact the last three matches and the travel would have on the players in our planning.
“Andy Edwards, our Head of Athletic Performance, and our logistics team have been working closely in the last few months to ensure that we do everything possible off the field to keep the players fresh and ready, and it will be the same for our coaching staff when we begin training on Friday.
“They deserve a lot of credit for the smooth travel and the way they ensured that we make everything as simple as possible for the players to perform well, and we will continue to do everything we can next week to make our country proud and finish the tour well.”
