03 November 2026
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has laid down the gauntlet for the upcoming Nations Cup tour, calling the next three matches vital to South Africa's Finals Weekend ambitions. The world champions hit the ground running with their first full training session on Monday afternoon ahead of Saturday’s clash against Italy.
Erasmus confirmed that Japan-based players arrived early in Europe to help the coaching staff with preparations. The remainder of the squad has now integrated to ensure the entire group is on the same page.
“We have three challenging matches ahead if we want to advance to the last game of the Finals Weekend, so our next three matches are going to be vital to lay a strong foundation for the tour,” said Erasmus. “All our energy is focused on the match against Italy for now. Fortunately, some of the Japan-based players were able to travel to Italy earlier than the rest of the squad, so they have been working with some of the coaching staff for a few days already and are fully in the swing of things, while we had our first training session on Monday afternoon, so everyone is now on the same page.”
The Bok management is banking on a blend of match fitness and fresh legs to secure a winning start. Players arriving from the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and French Top 14 campaigns are expected to quickly find their rhythm.
“With the majority of the squad having played together for most of the season, we are confident that the players who participated in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship and French Top 14 will ease into things seamlessly this week at training,” Erasmus added. “The fact that they are battle-hardened after a few tough matches will offer us a good balance with fresh players raring to go and others who come off a few challenging matches for their franchises and clubs.”
Six uncapped players have injected youth into the touring squad after linking up with the team on Tuesday. Riley Norton, Emmanuel Tshituka, Luan Giliomee, Yaqeen Ahmed, Markus Muller, and Sebastian de Klerk are all tracking to learn the Bok structures.
“They all joined us in camp today and are excited about the tour ahead, so we’ll expose them to our structures this week and monitor how they progress, and hopefully we’ll be able to give them a chance to show what they can do at this level against top opposition in the next few weeks,” Erasmus said. “They are special players who all bring something different to the team, and we have full faith in their talent and skill sets.”