Rugby
KweséESPN staff 6y

12 Springboks start end-of-year tour preparations

Rugby

In preparation for the Springboks' end-of-year tour to Europe, 12 players will attend a four-day training, assessment and conditioning camp, from 23 to 26 October in Cape Town.

The group of players excludes potential tourists who will represent their provinces (be it Sharks, Western Province, Golden Lions or Blue Bulls) in the Currie Cup playoffs, as well as those who are currently playing for clubs in England and Japan.

According to an SA Rugby press release, the purpose of the camp is to give Allister Coetzee and his backroom staff first-hand opportunity to assess the medical, conditioning and fitness status of the selected group ahead of the Outgoing Tour.

South Africa will spend a month in Europe, during which they will play Ireland (11 November, Dublin), France (18 November, Paris), Italy (25 November, Padova) and Wales (2 December, Cardiff) -- the last of which falls outside the international window.

Despite the small size of the group, which includes senior members like stand-in captain Eben Etzebeth, veteran prop Tendai Mtawarira and Siya Kolisi, they will go through the full gamut during the camp.

Initially, they will work under the supervision of the Springbok medical and conditioning team, before Coetzee, Franco Smith, Matthew Proudfoot and co will put them through their paces with skills training and tactical planning sessions. Tighthead prop Frans Malherbe will sit out the physical part of those sessions as he will attend the medical assessments only while he continues his recovery from a neck injury.

"The European tour will provide us with different challenges and we will therefore use the four days to spend some time on our fundamentals, continued rehabilitation and conditioning of this group of players," Coetzee is quoted as saying in the press release.

"Our management will be working hard during this period to finalise our detailed planning for the upcoming tour, and overall it will give us a good indication of the progress of those players who have recovered from injury, or those currently battling with niggles.

"They now had proper rest and recovery for almost two weeks and we must make sure they are rugby ready to ensure optimal performance for the challenges awaiting us during the end of the year tour."

The 12-man assessment group will have three days off, before the Springbok squad for the end-of-year tour is named on Sunday, 29 October -- the day after the Currie Cup final. The full squad will then assemble in Johannesburg the following day.

The following players have been confirmed for the initial camp in Cape Town:

Forwards: Lood de Jager (lock, Blue Bulls), Pieter-Steph du Toit (lock/flank, Western Province), Eben Etzebeth (lock, Western Province), Steven Kitshoff (prop, Western Province), Siya Kolisi (flank, Western Province), Frans Malherbe (prop, Western Province), Tendai Mtawarira (prop, Sharks), Coenie Oosthuizen (prop, Sharks), Trevor Nyakane (prop, Blue Bulls)

Backs: Damian de Allende (centre, Western Province), Jesse Kriel (centre, Blue Bulls), Handré Pollard (flyhalf, Blue Bulls)

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