Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick says the Springboks are concentrated solely on improving their game before preparing for back-to-back Tests against the All Blacks in the Republic.
A squad of 41 players assembled on Sunday for a one-week training camp in Mpumalanga, and got down to business on Monday with a review of the series win over Wales.
The Boks will face the All Blacks in Nelspruit on 6 August, and then in Johannesburg a week later, before embarking on a three-match tour to Australia and Argentina. They will then return home to close out their campaign against the Pumas in Durban on Saturday, 24 September.
“This week our focus will be mainly on where we are as a team and what we need to improve on before the Rugby Championship,” said Stick.
“There are a number of areas that we feel we need to be more effective in going into this competition, and we had a good look at those aspects of our game in our team meetings on Monday and started working on fine-tuning them.
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“We are under no illusions about the challenge ahead against New Zealand, Australia and Argentina.
“We’ve learned over the years that we will be tested in every Test match, so this week is all about us and improving as a team, and we will turn our focus more toward preparing specifically for the New Zealand Test next week.”
Stick said intensity and accuracy were crucial this week: “As coaches we discussed the importance of being as accurate as possible at training and maintaining a high level of intensity throughout the week so that we can gain as much as possible out of this training camp.
“It is vital that we achieve what we set out to at each training session so that we can be as effective as possible in those aspects of play when we take the field.”
He added: “It is great to see the focus in the squad, and it is clear that everyone is expecting a massive challenge during this Rugby Championship campaign.”
The Boks will spend the week in Hazyview and travel to Nelspruit on Friday before kicking off the competition next weekend at the Mbombela Stadium.
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Photo: Dave Hunt/EPA
