The Rugby World Cup is only 11 months away for the Springbok Women and as the clock is ticking towards the showpiece in New Zealand next year, the strong developmental nature of their November Series tour to France, Wales and England will form an important part of their end-goal.
That is the view of experienced scrumhalf, Tayla Kinsey, as the Springbok Women's team assembled at the High-Performance Centre in Pretoria, where they are going through a number of pre-tour activities before departing to France on Sunday evening.
The KZN player was part of the 2014 Rugby World Cup campaign for South Africa and although hampered by injury in recent months, she looks set to add to her 15 Tests caps and 36 points in the coming weeks. Kinsey said the tour will test the squad - with seven debutants on the trip - in various ways.
"We don't have an easy tour and I am very keen to see where we are from a playing perspective when we take on France next week - not only for myself, as I cannot wait to play again, but for the squad, as France will be a proper test," she said of the fourth-ranked team in the world.
As a senior player, Kinsey understands the responsibilities of guiding the younger players in the group as well and that is something she is looking forward too.
"A number of players have not travelled abroad and that will be something new for them to tour," said Kinsey.
"Also, there is a lot to take in during the next couple of days, so my advice to them would be to look, observe and learn as much as they can. We all have to be in sync if we want to achieve as a team, so the sooner they find their feet, the better it will be.
"They should ask a lot of questions and use the five days we have in camp to make sure they are up to speed."
The players have been very busy since they arrived in Pretoria, with medicals, kitting and the now customary early morning COVID tests, and they will also officially be capped on Friday. Added to that, the coaches are fine-tuning a number of areas in their play with the Vannes Test match only nine days away.
Kinsey said the mood is a positive one: "The environment is great, everyone is pleased to be here and some of us have not seen each other in a while, so there are a lot of smiles around.
"The fact that everyone is excited to get going - even the older players - bodes well for us. We are keen to get onto the field and test ourselves against some of the best teams in the world."