The Springboks arrived in Australia on Wednesday morning following their series victory over the All Blacks and are now preparing for their next major challenge – a test against the Wallabies in Perth.
The match will be played on Sunday 27 September at the Optus Stadium and will be the first meeting between South Africa and Australia this year.
Rassie Erasmus, Springbok head coach, says the team knows they face another difficult test after they came up against Argentina and New Zealand over the past few weeks.
The Boks come to Australia with momentum after winning Rugby's Greatest Rivalry against the All Blacks.
"We always knew how difficult the matches against Argentina and the All Blacks would be, and we took that into account in our preparation," Erasmus said.
"Both Argentina and the All Blacks tested us thoroughly, and we have no doubt that we will face a determined Wallabies team who will want to put on a good performance in front of their home crowd."
Wallabies present a different challenge
According to Erasmus, Australia also presents a completely different challenge from what the Boks experienced in their last few tests.
"The Wallabies play good rugby and we have no doubt they will come with everything in this match. It will require a full performance from us over 80 minutes to get the result we want next weekend."
Demanding travel schedule for Springboks
The Boks' travel schedule has been demanding over the past few weeks. The team travelled from Baltimore to Dallas on Monday following their matches in the United States, before taking a connecting flight to Sydney.
From there they travelled to their base in Terrigal, north of Sydney. The team begins preparation for the match on Friday.
Player management will be one of the key focus areas according to Erasmus after the Boks have completed three tough matches and long international flights.
The players had a rest day in Baltimore on Sunday before the journey to Australia began.
Erasmus says Andy Edwards, head of athletic performance, and the team's logistics staff have already been working for months to manage the impact of the travel schedule and match load as best as possible.
"We will continue to do everything possible next week to make our country proud and finish the tour well," Erasmus said.
Perth also significant with 2027 in mind
The match in Perth also carries significance with the 2027 Rugby World Cup in mind, which will be hosted in Australia. The Springboks will play in Perth again next year when they face Romania on 22 October 2027 in their third World Cup group match.
The test against the Wallabies is the final match of the Boks' current tour before they return to South Africa for a few weeks.
Source: SA Rugby
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
