Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus released three players, Ben-Jason Dixon, Johan Grobbelaar, and Canan Moodie, to their local franchises after the Boks wrapped up their main training block for the week on Wednesday, before the Castle Lager Rugby Championship decider between South Africa and Argentina at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday.
The Boks will have Thursday off to rest and gear up mentally for the match, where the 2024 champions will be crowned, and will complete their on-field preparations on Friday at their captains run.
With sufficient cover in the squad should any injuries arise, Erasmus was comfortable to release the players to the Vodacom Bulls (Grobbelaar and Moodie) and DHL Stormers (Dixon) respectively for their Vodacom United Rugby Championship season openers against Edinburgh and Ospreys respectively.
The Vodacom Bulls face Edinburgh at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday, while Dixon will link up with the DHL Stormers in Wales, where they will line up against Ospreys in Bridgend.
“It would have been great for the players to remain with us and attend Saturday’s game in Nelspruit after their contributions to our Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign, and it would have been special for them if we tick the necessary boxes to win the tournament, but it’s important to do our bit to assist the domestic franchises in their Vodacom URC campaigns,” said Erasmus.
“They have big games lined up, and every point in the competition counts, so we have no doubt the players will add immense value to their teams.”
The Springboks currently hold a five-point lead on the standings over the Pumas in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and are only one log point or a defeat without Argentina securing a bonus point away from lifting the title for the first time since 2019.