Johannesburg - Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber will name his first Springbok squad of the year within the next fortnight and the players will go into a camp on June 6 in Pretoria.
The squad will remain there until they play the first Test against Wales on July 2.
Nienaber confirmed this at the conclusion of the third and final Bok alignment camp which ended on Thursday in Cape Town.
The Springbok coaching team hosted their first alignment camp in Durban in April before heading north to meet with a few overseas-based players, and they wrapped up this stage of their preparation for the international season with a five-day camp in the Cape.
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Nienaber and his assistant coaches touched on several on-field and off-field aspects that will be important for the forthcoming season and with an eye on 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. The Springboks will be looking to retain their ranking as the No 1 team in the world and continue putting the building blocks in place to defend their title.
The team will kick off their 2022 season with three home Tests against Wales before launching into the Rugby Championship, where they will host the All Blacks in back-to-back Tests, which will be followed by a tour to Australia and Argentina. They will then return home for their final Test against the Pumas in Durban in September.
“We are satisfied with the alignment camps, and we believe these sessions will be beneficial to ensure a smooth return to the training field before the three Tests against Wales,” said Nienaber.
“While the first alignment in Durban touched on the team’s programme this season and in the lead up to the World Cup in France, as well as a broad overview of what worked last season and what we can improve on, we zoomed into more detail at this camp focusing on the key areas for the team going forward as we turn our attention to the international season and further ahead to the Rugby World Cup.”
Nienaber added: “I’m very happy with the players’ enthusiasm and their desire to keep learning and fine-tuning the areas of their game that could make a big difference in the quality of our rugby.”
“With the alignment camps now behind us we will turn our attention to selecting a national squad before the end of the month and ensuring that we plan as well as possible for our upcoming training camp,” said Nienaber, who added that the players will stay in camp until the first Test at Loftus Versfeld.
“These three back-to-back Tests, in turn, will lay an important foundation for our Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign, so it is vital that we get the minor detail right from the outset.”
Springbok fixtures and SA kick-off times:
Incoming Series:
17h05: Saturday, 2 July – Springboks v Wales (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
17h05: Saturday, 9 July – Springboks v Wales (Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein)
17h05: Saturday, 16 July – Springboks v Wales (Cape Town)
Rugby Championship:
17h05: Saturday, 6 August – Springboks v All Blacks (Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit)
17h05: Saturday, 13 August – Springboks v All Blacks (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
TBC: Saturday, 27 August – Australia v Springboks (Adelaide Oval, Adelaide)
TBC: Saturday, 3 September – Australia v Springboks (New South Wales, venue TBC)
21h10: Saturday, 17 September – Argentina v Springboks (Estadio Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires)
17h05: Saturday, 24 September – Springboks v Argentina (Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban)
IOL Sport