Springboks to prepare for Lions with Georgia Tests

Colin Newboult

South Africa anthem before the Rugby World Cup semi-final match between Wales and South Africa in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, on October 27, 2019.(Credit Image: ESPA/Cal Sport Media/Sipa USA)

The Springboks will make their much-anticipated return to international action in July when the world champions host Georgia in a historic two-match series.

The series marks the first time Georgia will tour South Africa, while the two Tests are also the first time the two countries will meet again since their only previous clash, at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

It means Jacques Nienaber will make his debut as Springbok head coach on the weekend of 2/3 July, with the second clash set for one week later on the weekend of 9/10 July. SA Rugby will confirm the exact dates, venues and kick-off times in due course.

Rassie Erasmus, director of rugby, welcomed the World Rugby July Test schedule and said the two-Test series against Georgia offered the Springboks a very good opportunity to prepare for the much-anticipated Lions Series.

Full-blooded international

“Nothing beats a full-blooded international to test your skill set, readiness and ability under pressure, and we are delighted to have this opportunity before the Lions series,” said Erasmus.

“Jacques (Nienaber), his coaching staff and management have been working around the clock to get the team as well prepared as possible, and the Georgia series is a much-needed opportunity after such a long and unforeseen interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Last year, Nienaber was named as Springbok head coach, but the worldwide pandemic has prevented the Rugby World Cup champions from playing any Test matches since 2 November 2019, when they defeated England in the final in Japan.

“The confirmation of the Georgian Tests, and the announcement of the British & Irish Lions squad last week have caused a lot of excitement and I am sure it will lift the spirit of the players – we can now accelerate our preparations for our return to Test rugby,” said Nienaber.

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Lasha Khurtsidze, the Georgian vice-president for high performance and development, described the forthcoming series as a result of the growing friendship and cooperation between the rugby authorities in Georgia and South Africa.

“Playing against them is a great honour for us,” said Khurtsidze.

“We have only played the Springboks once before, in our first Rugby World Cup appearance in 2003, when we scored the first try. A lot of time has passed since then, they are the current world champions and we have developed as well.”

According to Khurtsidze, SA Rugby has over a number of years made an active contribution to the development of Georgian rugby.

He added: “We appreciate the fact that we have a friendly and close relations with SA Rugby. Our Under-20s have been invited to South Africa on numerous occasions to play in very high-level tournaments over there. As a leading tier one rugby nation, this makes South Africa an important contributor to the development of Georgian rugby.”