Looking ahead at their end-of-the-year tour, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus admitted that while it would be challenging given the quality of the opposition they will be facing, the team was eager to get back on the field.
“It’s a longer tour than usual and we are facing top-class opposition, but we are looking forward to it,” said Erasmus.
“Ireland and France are currently ranked third and fourth in the world, while Italy, Wales, and Japan are in 10th, 12th and 13th place, and we’ve seen in the last few years that you cannot write off any team.
“Ireland and France are always tough opposition, and they both won four out of their five Six Nations matches, with France emerging as the eventual champions, and we know how challenging it is to beat them both at home.
“Japan have beaten us before, Italy put up a good fight against us earlier this year in Pretoria, and Wales beat Japan, proving that they are again on an upward trajectory, so it’s going to be a challenging tour.
“We have delivered a few good performances but also a few disappointing ones this season, so this will be a good opportunity to test ourselves and see if we can build consistency from week to week. That said, it is going to take a massive effort, and we are excited about the tour.”
“We are excited about the makeup of this squad,” said Erasmus. “Most of the players in the group have been with us throughout the season, while others are back from injury or have done the job for us before in the last few years."
“It’s also great to see a young player like Zachary, who has emerged through our junior structures, come through the ranks into the senior set-up, and we are excited to see what he can do at this level.”
Erasmus added: “With five tough matches lined up, we always planned to select a manageable squad, and we have a solid bunch of players on standby, some of whom have been with us during stages this season, and uncapped players such as Sebastian and Juarno, who have continued to impress us with their performances.
“With Neethling and Salmaan currently in the process of returning from injury, it’s important for us that they get more game time for their Vodacom URC franchises, which was the main reason for excluding them from the 36-man squad."
“Obviously, players not included on the standby list could also be called up should the need arise.”