Springbok assistant coach Deon Davids, who will double up as the Springbok and SA ‘A’ team assistant coach, said on Monday that their preparations were well on track for the matches against the Barbarians and Zimbabwe, and added that they hoped to build on the work done last week as the countdown begins to the season-opening double-header in Gqeberha.
The SA ‘A’ team will take the field against Zimbabwe at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at 12h00 on Saturday, which will be followed by the clash between the Springboks and Barbarians at 15h00.
“It's fantastic having the young players in the squad and mixing things up with the more experienced players, so there's good progression from our alignment camps into this camp,” said Davids.
“That has also formed a good understanding about what is expected of everyone and about how we do things.
“It’s been good to see the energy and enthusiasm and how the players have related to one another and worked together to get things done, so we're looking forward to this week as we build up to Saturday.”
Explaining the decision to train in Johannesburg until Wednesday before making the trip to Gqeberha, Davids said: “We’ve settled well in Johannesburg, and we're comfortable with the surroundings and our training facilities, so we thought it would be best to finish our training here, and have our captains’ runs in Gqeberha going into the games.”
Davids was equally thrilled about the opportunity to double up between the two national teams this weekend: “We’ve tried to keep things aligned in terms of our plans, and that has been our approach in terms of what we've done in the different departments, and I think it’s worked well, and we're on the right track.”
Commenting on what they expected from the Barbarians and Zimbabwe, Davids spoke highly of the opposition, saying they would each bring their own strengths.
“With the Barbarians, you have to understand their background, the way their squad is put together, and you cannot underestimate them because they are a bunch of experienced players, many of them with X factor, so you don’t want them to get on a roll.”
“The Barbarians have a unique dynamic that goes back decades. They like to entertain, and clever coaches encourage it by picking players who can do just that.”
“Because they don’t have much time to prepare as a group, they stick to a style that has worked for them forever; they want to give the ball air, they want to create opportunities by a mixture of structure and attacking adventure.”
“In terms of Zimbabwe, they have also developed quality players, and they have good coaches and assistant coaches who will bring a lot of structure to their forward play. The fact that they've qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup also makes this a good challenge for them and for us.”