Springbok coach Jaques Nienaber suggested that after managing squad rotation in the past four matches, to give as many players as possible a chance to put up their hand for World Cup selection, the plan in their next few weeks is to build team continuity.
“A guy like Jaden (Hendrikse) has not had game time yet, and it would be nice to give him some time on the field,” said Nienaber. “But there’ll be less chopping and changing, and we’ll try to build more combinations.”
The Boks will face Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, 19 August, and New Zealand in London the following Friday (25 August), in their last two warm-up games before departing for a week-long training camp in Corsica en route to their tournament base in Toulon. The opening match is against Scotland in Marseille on Sunday, 10 September.
This will be followed by pool matches against Romania in Bordeaux (17 September), Ireland in Paris (23 September) and Tonga in Marseille (1 October).
“The main difference between the 2019 RWC and this one, is that there is a little more expectation on us now,” said Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber.
“As a team, we’ve built more squad depth over the last few years, but the expectations are not a burden, it’s a privilege.
“In the last few weeks, we’ve attended a few functions and we’ve heard all the messages from our partners, dignitaries, and the public, so we realise how much support we have. We understand the expectations and we embrace it.
“The beauty of this squad is that we have quite a lot of experience,” Nienaber added. “We have nine players participating in their third Rugby World Cup, and a whole lot in their second. So perhaps only a third of the squad will play in their first World Cup.”
