A two Test series against Ireland last month could prove ideal preparation for South Africa’s opening two matches in the Rugby Championship against Australia over the next fortnight, lock RG Snyman has claimed.
The World Cup winners beat the Six Nations champions 27-20 in their first test in Pretoria but were then edged by a last gasp drop-goal in the second test in Durban, going down 25-24.
The two test series pitted the top two teams in World Rugby’s rankings and Snyman said there could not have been better preparation for the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, which gets under way on Saturday.
“I think playing Ireland prepared us very well, because I think they’ve got a lot of systems and stuff set up from being coached by Joe Schmidt,” said Snyman, who plays his club rugby in Ireland.
Schmidt was Ireland coach from 2013-2019 during which time they won three Six Nations champions and went to the top of the world rankings.
The 58-year-old Schmidt took over as Wallabies coach in January and has won his three games in charge – two tests against Wales and one over Georgia last month.
“There will certainly be some differences, with the style of play that Australia bring and the players they have,” Snyman said.
“But I think in a lot of ways there will be many similarities too.”
Australia host South Africa in Brisbane on Saturday and then play them again next Saturday August 17 in Perth.
“Facing Ireland in those two games, we’ve certainly learned a lot and will hopefully carry that into the championship,” the lock forward added.
South African franchises, however, no longer play in Super Rugby against Australia and New Zealand opposition meaning the familiarity with their opponent has gone.
“It’s certainly different prepping against them, not having faced them throughout the season as was the case before.
“It means there’ll just have to be a lot of extra work going into this week with watching player profiles and seeing who’s going to play and studying up on guys when previously we would have known them well,” Snyman told a virtual press conference.
South Africa travelled with a 33-man squad earlier than usual for the two tests in Australia.
“It’s been beneficial to us because we’ve got over the jet lag a little bit sooner and we can have a full week of prep,” he added.
READ MORE : Springbok star receive massive opportunity as Springboks’ new No 9
With Faf de Klerk and Jaden Hendrikse both injured, Grant Williams has a golden opportunity to seize the Springbok No 9 jersey.
Last month it was confirmed that Faf de Klerk had been ruled out of the first couple of Springbok Rugby Championship matches, along with two other scrumhalves: Jaden Hendrikse and Herschel Jantjies, due to injury.
The Springboks are blessed with depth at scrumhalf, though, with little to choose between Cobus Reinach and Grant Williams for the No 9 jersey, but it’s the latter who finally looks set for another deserved start against the Wallabies this Saturday.
Williams has only started at scrumhalf once before for the Springboks, and on that occasion he had to be replaced within the first minute of the match after suffering a head knock against Argentina.
He has featured in 10 other Tests to date, coming on as a substitute on eight occasions, while starting on the right wing twice at last year’s World Cup.
As the Springboks begin to look towards the future at scrumhalf, it would make little sense to continue starting 34-year-old Cobus Reinach, and it does seem that Williams will crack the nod at No 9 this weekend.
Williams will face the Wallabies for the first time in Australia, and said he is looking forward to the challenge: “They have good scrumhalves and a guy like Nic White, in particular, has a lot of experience, so they will test us. But we also want to go out there and give our best, so hopefully it will be a top-class match.”
WILLIAMS WILL FORM PART OF A STRONG SPRINGBOK SIDE
Erasmus will name his matchday squad for the clash on Tuesday, with the match kicking off at 06h45 (SA time) on Saturday, and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.
The Boks arrived in Australia last week Thursday to acclimatise to the time zone and local conditions, and they wasted no time getting into the thick of things with training and gym sessions on Friday and Saturday.
The players had Sunday off to recover and resumed training on Monday, and according to lock RG Snyman, the decision certainly paid off.
“Arriving in Australia the week before the Test was beneficial because it allowed us more time to overcome the jetlag, and especially outside of the Test week itself as well,” said Snyman.
“The guys are now well settled into the time zone, and we are training full-out and feel good, so we are excited about Saturday’s match.”
Snyman said the fact that the Boks had played two Tests against the world’s second highest ranked team, Ireland, last month also assisted in their preparation for the challenge they are about to face against Australia, New Zealand and Argentina in the Rugby Championship.
“I don’t think we could have had better preparation than facing Ireland going into the Rugby Championship, and we certainly learned a few things in those matches which we would like to carry into this competition,” said the big Bok lock.
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES
The 2024 tournament will be contested over six rounds, with each country playing six matches – three at home and three away.
All times SA
Round 1 – August 10
Australia vs South Africa, Brisbane – 06:30
New Zealand vs Argentina, Wellington – 09:35
Round 2 – August 17
New Zealand vs Argentina, Auckland – 09:35
Australia vs South Africa, Perth – 11:45
Round 3 – August 31
South Africa vs New Zealand, Johannesburg – 17:00
Argentina vs Australia, La Plata – 21:00
Round 4 – September 7
South Africa vs New Zealand, Cape Town – 17:00
Argentina vs Australia, Santa Fe – 21:00
Round 5 – September 21
Australia vs New Zealand, Sydney – 07:45
Argentina vs South Africa, Santiago del Estero – 23:00
Round 6 – September 28
New Zealand vs Australia, Wellington – 09:05
