Boks focused on winning Rugby Championship as Australia loom

SA are fully focused on winning this year’s Rugby Championship ahead of their World Cup defence in France, Springbok centre André Esterhuizen says as they prepare to face Australia in their tournament opener in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Boks are to employ a split squad tactic this year and will send a number of first-team players to New Zealand this week to acclimatise ahead of their second Rugby Championship fixture against the All Blacks in Auckland on July 15.

It was a tactic they employed successfully in 2019 when they won both the Rugby Championship and World Cup in Japan. It means they will field players from their wider squad for the Australia game, but Esterhuizen says this should not be construed as the Boks taking the game, or the competition, lightly.

“This series [Rugby Championship] is a stepping stone for us to start moving in the right direction. We have to get things right now before the end goal [the World Cup],” he told reporters on Monday.

“We have had open communication throughout between the coaches and the players. It has been a good three weeks [of training] together and we are all on the same page. We know what the goal is for the next four weeks. Everyone is happy and knows where they stand.”

Australia will play their first game under returning coach Eddie Jones, having not won in six previous meetings with the Boks at Loftus Versfeld.

“The Aussies always come to SA trying to make a statement,” Esterhuizen said. “So we can expect a hard and good match, especially with Eddie taking the reins again. “They will have a few things up their sleeves, and they are going to come with a lot of motivation because he [Jones] knows how to get a team fired up for a game.”

Reuters