Snyman relishing Wallabies Test

Springbok lock, RG Snyaman, says the team have learnt some valuable lessons from their series against Ireland, which they plan to implement when they tackle Australia in the Rugby Championship opener on Saturday.

The Boks arrived in Australia last Thursday to acclimatise to the time zone and local conditions. They wanted to also get a full week of preparation ahead of the clash in Brisbane.

Speaking to the media, Snyman said the decision to travel early has paid off for the players.

“The guys are now well settled into the time zone, and we are training full-out and feel good, so we are excited about Saturday’s match.”

The Springboks go into Saturday’s encounter on back of a drawn home series with world number two Ireland and a big win with a new-look side against Portugal.

Snyman says facing Ireland, who were coached by Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt between 2013 and 2019, has given the Springboks an ideal preparation for tackling Australia.

“I don’t think we could have had better preparation than facing Ireland going into the Rugby Championship, and we certainly learned a few things in those matches which we would like to carry into this competition. Playing Ireland prepared us really well, because they have a lot of systems set up from being coached by Joe Schmidt. There will be some differences, with Australia’s style of play and their players, but in a lot of ways there will be similarities.”

“We are looking forward to facing that challenge as well,” added the lanky lock.