The Springboks have arrived in Buenos Aires following an overnight journey from Johannesburg in the early hours of Sunday morning and assistant coach Deon Davids said the players were ready to get down to business as they prepare for their opening Rugby World Cup warm-up game against the Pumas on Saturday at Velez Sarsfield.
The team departed South Africa at 02h00 on Sunday morning and arrived at their hotel at 11h00 Argentina time on Sunday, which allowed the players a proper day’s recovery and saw them slot into to the time zone seamlessly – a factor Davids believed was invaluable as they gear up for what will be a challenging encounter against Los Pumas on home soil this weekend.
“We made the journey to Argentina after the match and we landed Sunday morning, so the players had time to recover on the airplane, and we can now slot back into our normal Test week schedule,” said Davids. “We’re excited to be here, and we are looking forward to the challenge this weekend.”
Davids said the only injury concern in the larger Springbok squad (outside of the players recovering from longer-term injuries), was scrumhalf Grant Williams, who suffered concussion against the Pumas in Saturday’s 22-21 victory at Emirates Airline Park in their closing Castle Lager Rugby Championship match.
Wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, who suffered a finger injury in the match, is no longer a concern and will be considered for selection for the fixture in Argentina’s capital.
Davids said there were several positives they would take from the performance on Saturday, having had time to analyse the first of their back-to-back match-ups against Argentina: “In general, it was a very competitive match against the Pumas, and I take my hat off to them for giving everything and trying to get a positive result.
“But for us from a preparation point of view we could not have asked for a better match. The players from both teams tested each other individually and tactically, and we had to play for the full 80 minutes just as we had to against New Zealand.
“It was an excellent test and it’s exactly what the team needed to prepare for the Rugby World Cup.
“We’re expecting an even tougher match in Buenos Aires, and we anticipate that it will be hard-fought match until the final whistle. We’re facing a passionate Argentinean team that believes they could have won the last match in front of a crowd that backs them all the way.
“We’ve been here before and it is never easy, so it will be a challenge for the players and the team to perform under pressure, and we are excited about that.”