Boks have to hit the ground running today

Little time to adjust for Wallabies game

[caption id="attachment_91440" align="alignright" width="260"] STEPPING IN: Lionel Mapoe of the Lion is tipped to replace Jean de Villiers in the Bok side. PICTURE: GALLO IMAGES[/caption]

AUSTRALIAN tours are tough, but arriving on Monday night before a test, on the back of a game the previous weekend, makes it even tougher for the Springboks.

The 31-man Bok touring party to Brisbane touched down last night and will not have a full training session until today, and another tomorrow. It is a short week.That is why most of the preparations for Saturday’s Rugby Championship opener against the Wallabies at the Suncorp Stadium were done over the past fortnight.

The Boks came out of a clash against the World XV last Saturday – which they won 46-10 – clear on the injury front. That will allow coach Heyneke Meyer to pick the team he had in mind.

He said after Saturday’s win at Newlands that there would be changes this weekend. It is likely that tighthead prop Frans Malherbe will be brought back into the 23-man squad along with Lionel Mapoe.

Malherbe is likely to replace Vincent Koch and Mapoe could come in for Jean de Villiers, who stayed behind to continue his rehabilitation.

Meyer is likely to stick with Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel in the centre, giving Kriel his first test cap after an impressive showing against the World XV at the weekend.

“We’ve usually travelled to Australia on a bye weekend, giving us one extra day to prepare, but we don’t have it this year and we will have to make sure we hit the ground running [today],” Meyer said.

“We’ve worked on a couple of new things since we got together and the match against the World XV was a good barometer to see where we stand. The challenge this week would be to improve on certain aspects of the game and to fine-tune others.

“We need to make a big step-up against the Wallabies. It will be a very high-tempo game and proper test match rugby against one of the top sides in the world.

“They had two teams in the semifinals of Super Rugby this year, which probably points to more depth in their structures.”

It will be a fresh start for the Bulls under a new Currie Cup coaching staff headed by Nollis Marais, and a fairly youthful playing squad. Several players have left Loftus, while others are on Bok duty. - Craig Ray and Chumani Bambani