Bok camps come first, says Everitt

National interest will come first as SAs Rainbow Cup teams face the disruption of being weakened by key players being called up to Springbok training camps over the next couple of’weeks.

The Boks are scheduled to go into camp before their first warm-up Test against Georgia on July 3 as preparations for the arrival of the British and Irish Lions move into top gear.

There is speculation that three foreign-based forwards — Jasper Wiese, Joseph Dweba and Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg — will be included in the Springbok camps.

Bok coach Jacques Nienaber met a number of players in Johannesburg (Lions and Bulls), Durban (Sharks), Cape Town (Stormers) and Bloemfontein (Cheetahs) during a series of camps earlier this month.

At the completion of the SA camps, the Bok coaching staff held virtual sessions with players based in Ireland and Japan before linking up with players based in England and France.

It is believed Janse van Rensburg, Dweba and Wiese will be involved in the alignment camps in the weeks leading up to the squad announcement for the Lions series.

Sharks coach Sean Everitt said any request to send players to a Bok camp would be honoured.

“We have a dozen guys that have been involved in the alignment camps so far,” he said.

“I think we have the biggest contribution, so it won’t be easy to rest our top players in such a short comp.

“But any request from SA Rugby we will entertain and honour.

“We used the Preparation Series to test our depth and it was pleasing to see where we are.

“There will be times in this Rainbow Cup SA where we will have to rest our Boks who will be involved against the Lions but we have good depth and the guys that will replace the top dogs will be ready and waiting. This short competition of six games doesn’t allow us to rotate and test depth — it is about winning each week and performing.

“The pressure is on in every game when it is just two rounds of home and away matches.

“You can’t afford to drop points because then you are level pegging with the next team.

“So for us to be unbeaten after two rounds is very pleasing.”

SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said there was much to look forward to this year when the Boks finally run out for the first time as world champions after the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Domestically, all 14 teams will be in action and our switch from Super Rugby to PRO Rugby will be complete — travel restrictions permitting,” he said.

“We have weathered Covid’s first storm and the return of our national teams and the arrival of the British and Irish Lions will be a great psychological boost.

“However, I cannot stress enough, we remain on a financial tightrope which will require careful management and financial restraint to survive.”

Roux said he expected the Springboks to play a schedule of 14 Tests in 2021 (two more than usual) with the Springbok Women, Sevens and Junior Boks also returning to action.

“Nothing beats a full-blooded international to test your skill set, readiness and ability under pressure, and we are delighted to have this opportunity against Georgia before the Lions series,” SA’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus said.

“Jacques Nienaber, his coaching staff and management have been working around the clock to get the team as well prepared as possible, and the Georgia series is a much-needed opportunity after such a long and unforeseen interruption due to the pandemic.”