Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids expected a proper physical onslaught from Georgia in their closing Castle Lager Incoming Series match in Nelspruit on Saturday at 17:10 (SA Time) and made it clear that while many pundits may have already written off the visitors, it will not be a walk in the park.
The Springboks arrived in Nelspruit on Sunday from Gqeberha, where they defeated Italy 45-0, and immediately got back into action for Saturday’s match at the Mbombela Stadium on Monday with video sessions, which will be followed by a gym and field training session this afternoon.
The Boks also did a thorough analysis of Georgia, which went down 24-20 against the Toyota Cheetahs in a warm-up game last Friday, and said they knew what they would be up against.
“Every Test is important for us, and we never underestimate any team,” said Davids. “We know what their DNA is. We played against them in 2021, so they will certainly bring their traditional physicality and give everything out there.
“We’ve heard they want to play in the Six Nations, and they will see this match as a step in trying to achieve that. That said, we have our own standards, and we know where we want to be going into the Castle Lager Rugby Championship later in the season, so this is a massive game for us to try to improve and build on what we have achieved so far.”
Davids revealed that all the players in the squad have received a clean bill of health and will be available for selection this week, with Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus set to name his match-23 for the encounter on Tuesday.
The Bok assistant coach also empathised with Springbok No 8 Jasper Wiese that the team have to deal with it.
Zoning in on the cover at No 8 in the group, Davids said: “We have versatile players in our squad, and players like Evan (Roos), Siya (Kolisi) and Marco (van Staden) can cover No 8, so we have a few players who can play there for us.”