Two Springbok centurions flown home ahead of Wallabies clash

South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus has confirmed that Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende have been released from camp ahead of the Springboks’ clash with Australia in Perth next weekend.

The pair, who started all four matches in South Africa’s Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series victory over the All Blacks, where they both became centurions, have returned home in order to spend time with their families, with Erasmus saying they have sufficient cover in the squad.

Du Toit has started in seven of the Springboks’ eight matches this year, as well as an uncapped victory over the Barbarians, only missing the meeting with Argentina in Buenos Aires in August. That was a well-earned rest after captaining the side in Siya Kolisi’s absence during the Nations Championship fixtures in July.

De Allende, meanwhile, has featured in six of the Springboks’ matches this year, missing the Pumas meeting as well as the victory over Scotland in July.

Following the world champions’ 43-28 win over the All Blacks in Baltimore last week, which secured the RGR series, they flew straight from the USA to Sydney, with their attention turning to the Wallabies.

Fixture

Internationals

Australia

02:45

27 Sep 26

South Africa

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Speaking ahead of the clash with Les Kiss’ side at Perth’s Optus Stadium, Erasmus said: “This is a Test match against a country we’ve had a rivalry with since I can remember.

“Since David Campese scored that beautiful try, Pieter Hendriks got the opening try against them in Cape Town at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and since I played against players like George Gregan and Stephen Larkham when the Brumbies were one of the best teams in the world.

“It’s not a tour we want to finish off casually. This is a great country, and the World Cup is being hosted here next year, so it’s massive to be able to play against the World Cup hosts in a big Test match.

“They’ll be really fresh and they’ve won four out of five of their recent matches, while we come off a tough series against New Zealand. But RGR and this match have nothing to do with each other. This is a completely different challenge.”

Kolisi added: “It’s been a long journey, but it was a great success in the USA, and being here in Australia now and preparing for this game is really important.

“It’s a team we’ve had some tough battles against, but training has been going well this week and it’s good being here in Terrigal. We’ve also seen a lot of South Africans coming out here to support us, which is great.”