Rassie Erasmus insist Springboks 'on track' despite split squad and long flights

Rassie Erasmus believes the Springboks remain firmly on course in their preparations despite a demanding travel schedule and the challenge of splitting their squad between commitments in Argentina and South Africa.

The Springboks touched down in Argentina in the early hours of Sunday morning, South American time, after departing Cape Town on Saturday ahead of next week’s clash against Los Pumas at Estadio José Amalfitani.

South Africa travelled in two groups, with both parties flying to Buenos Aires via São Paulo before arriving at their team hotel shortly after midnight. The squad will spend Sunday recovering from the lengthy journey before returning to training on Monday as they begin the final phase of preparations for the encounter.

With players and staff having crossed multiple time zones, Erasmus has opted to give his travelling squad the day to rest and acclimatise before resuming on-field work.

“It’s great to be back in Buenos Aires, and we are looking forward to the challenge of facing the Pumas here once again,” said Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus.

“It was a long journey, and there is a fair time difference between the countries, so the players will have time to rest and acclimatise today, and then we’ll return to the training field tomorrow [Monday].

“Fortunately, we did most of the ground work for the match at our training camp in Johannesburg earlier this week, so we have a good base to build on in the next few days.”

The Boks’ preparations have been complicated by the need to balance their immediate assignment against longer-term planning for the forthcoming Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tests against New Zealand.

A separate group of players remained in South Africa to focus on those fixtures and will regroup later on Sunday before resuming training on Monday. However, Erasmus expressed confidence that both programmes are progressing as planned.

“We are on track in terms of our preparation for both this match and the New Zealand Tour,” said Erasmus.

The Springbok head coach will now meet with his fellow coaches before finalising plans for the week and deciding when his team to face Argentina will be unveiled.

Erasmus says he will consult with his coaching team later on Sunday before deciding when to announce the matchday squad for the Test against Los Pumas.