Boks switch their focus to All Blacks and RGR

The travelling squad returned to SA’s shores in two groups on Monday night and Tuesday, and had flush-out sessions at the gym following their return to recover from the long trip.

The entire training camp squad – including the group of players who remained in SA to focus on their preparations for RGR – are set to return to the training field in Johannesburg on Friday and Saturday to continue putting the building blocks in place for their four back-to-back Tests against New Zealand.

The teams will cross paths on four successive weekends at 10bet 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.

Moodie, who started at outside centre in the clash against Los Pumas, reflected on the match against Los Pumas and said it was valuable for the team’s preparation for the forthcoming challenge.

“We got out of that game what we wanted to, so now it's full focus on the All Blacks series,” said Moodie.

“They've already played against the DHL Stormers and the Hollywoodbets Sharks, so we'll be dialled into they're doing, and preparing as best we can.”

The 23-year-old back said last week’s match was particularly important for some players to get a full-blown tough Test match under the belt, especially with several players returning from injury, including Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager (both locks), Siya Kolisi (flanker), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (flyhalf), and Morne van den Berg (scrumhalf), and also for Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus to continue building player combinations.

“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.”

While the Springboks will have the luxury of home ground advantage in three of their four matches against the All Blacks, Moodie said the experience of facing a vocal and passionate crowd in Buenos Aires was great to prepare the players mentally for the Castle Lager Double Malt RGR series.

“It was very big,” said Moodie. “As players were well prepared for what was to come against Argentina and a lot of the boys hadn't played there before, but it was about sticking to our systems and doing what we wanted to as a team.

“It took a lot of character, but our systems were there backing us against the fatigue, their long kicking game, and a hostile crowd, and that worked out for us.”

The Test matches against New Zealand will be followed by a one-off match between the Springboks and Wallabies in Perth on Sunday 27 September.