The Springboks battled their way to a hard-fought victory against Argentina this past weekend, but the match still served a purpose in various ways.
Several players were able to bank some important game-time, others such as Cameron Hanekom were able to make a real case for meaningful involvement against the All Blacks, while Rassie Erasmus’ team also banked a 12th consecutive victory overall.
As the Springboks now switch their focus to the All Blacks and Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry four-Test series, star utility back Canan Moodie says there is a quiet confidence within the team.
“We got out of that game (against Argentina) what we wanted to, so now it’s full focus on the All Blacks series,” said Moodie.
“I think a lot of the boys who returned from injuries aren’t quite match-fit yet, so getting 80 minutes (of game time) was very important,” said Moodie.
“It wasn’t easy, but the guys showed a lot of character, and hopefully we can carry that into the next Test series, and when it gets tough, we can dig deep and hopefully get the result.”
Springboks back together
A number of first-choice players also missed the Test against Argentina in order to focus on preparing for the All Blacks, and now the entire training camp squad are set to return to the training field in Johannesburg on Friday and Saturday.
New Zealand and South Africa will cross paths on four successive weekends at Ellis Park in Johannesburg (22 August), the DHL Stadium in Cape Town (29 August), FNB Stadium in Johannesburg (5 September), and at the M&T Bank Stadium, in Baltimore, USA (12 September) in the inaugural RGR series.
One big injury worry
The Springboks will have virtually their entire squad to choose from now that the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager (both locks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (flyhalf) and Morne van den Berg (scrumhalf) were all able to make their injury comebacks.
However, Siya Kolisi is being monitored after straining his hamstring, with Pieter-Steph du Toit or Etzebeth likely to lead the team if the regular skipper is unavailable.
