Straight after the Rugby Championship, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said the team’s focus had already shifted to their November fixtures.
After winning eight Tests out of 12 so far this year, the Springboks will be targeting an undefeated run against Scotland, England and Wales to cap off what would be a sensational 2024 season.
“The pressure has been on the players to gel quickly, and I must give credit to the coaching staff and all the backroom team and the guys for keeping on believing despite all the changes,” Erasmus said after a busy start to the season.
“We’ve used 49 players this year and 35 in the Rugby Championship. But when you get to these crunch games it’s the older heads and the calmer heads that sometimes pull it through…
“Overall, I’m very happy, but the end-of-year tour is now our target and going through that undefeated.”
HERE ARE ALL OF THE SPRINGBOKS’ END-OF-YEAR FIXTURES TO NOTE
- Sunday, 10 November: Scotland vs South Africa (18:10 SA time)
- Saturday, 16 November: England vs South Africa (19:40 SA time)
- Saturday, 23 November: Wales vs South Africa (19:40 SA time)
Interestingly, Erasmus said the Springboks might slightly alter their ambitions to play more expansively due to the fact that conditions in the northern hemisphere are likely to be unfavourable during their winter months.
“It’s getting better, but when we go there, we’ll pull back a little bit and that’s something we’ve done and we can do again,” Erasmus said.
“We can play a little bit more traditionally, something we’ve done in the Rugby World Cup finals and the British & Irish Lions games.
“We’re a team who can pull it back and even though it may be hard to go back to the exciting brand, I think we’re getting there.”
DO YOU THINK THE BOKS WILL GO UNDEFEATED ON THE END-OF-YEAR-TOUR?
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