Boks touch down, ready to engage Wallabies

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The Springboks can’t wait to lock horns with Australia after finally arriving in Adelaide on Saturday for the start of the world champions’ away leg of the Rugby Championship.

The Boks’ original flight from Johannesburg to Sydney was cancelled on Thursday night due to complications relating to flight staff, but the squad departed for Australia at midday on Friday, with the coaches and conditioning staff swiftly adapting the team’s training programme.

The 34-man squad arrived in Sydney on Saturday morning and then made the short trip to Adelaide, where they will play their first of two Tests against the Wallabies at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday, 27 August.

“The players rested well on the plane, and everyone is excited to be in Australia are looking forward to our two Tests against the Wallabies,” said Jacques Nienaber.

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“The professional manner in which the situation was dealt with resulted in minimal disruption to our programme, which is certainly pleasing from a coaching perspective.”

Nienaber added: “The team will have flush-out gym sessions in the next two days to recover from the travel, and we will follow our usual Test-week programme from tomorrow.

“This is going to be a massive week for us, and everyone understands the importance of ensuring that they recover as well as possible so that we can train full out on Monday as we look to get our Rugby Championship campaign back on track.

“We haven’t beaten Australia at home since 2013, so we are under no illusions about the challenge that lies ahead. We will have to be at our best to start our tour on a positive note.”

The Boks face the Wallabies in their second Test in Sydney on Saturday, 3 September, before taking on Argentina in two Tests, in Buenos Aires (17 September) and Durban (24 September), respectively.

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Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix

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Devin Hermanus