The Springboks have arrived in Toulon ahead of their Rugby World Cup defence, with the squad taking a ten-and-half-hour ferry overnight from Corsica.
South Africa headed to Corsica for a training camp after their final preparation match against New Zealand at Twickenham.
Finally in Toulon
The defending champions kick off their World Cup against Scotland in Marseille next Sunday, and head coach Jacques Nienaber said the squad was looking forward to their campaign following a productive week on the Mediterranean island.
“We had a great ferry trip, which was a unique experience for the team, and we are thrilled to finally be in Toulon for the World Cup,” said Nienaber.
“It was an overnight trip, so the players managed to get good rest, and we are now officially in World Cup mode.
“We ticked the boxes we wanted to from a training perspective in Corsica and we’ll return to the field raring to go on Tuesday.”
The Boks head into the tournament on the back of four successive victories, including two thumping wins over Wales and New Zealand.
Surreal feeling
Toulon will be the Boks’ base for the tournament, and Nienaber says there is a lot of excitement in the group.
“It feels surreal to be here,” the head coach added.
“We’ve been working toward this goal for four years, and we are now officially one week away from playing our first match.
“There’s a lot of excitement in the group, and the team is completely aligned in terms of what we have to do if we want to be successful in France.”
With preparations for Scotland well underway, the squad is keen to continue the hard work on and off the field this week to ensure they are ready for the challenge on Sunday.
“We said from the outset that we would approach the tournament one match at a time, and the hard work behind the scenes to prepare for the Scotland clash started in Corsica already,” said Nienaber.
“They are ranked fifth in the world, and we know what they are capable of, so it’s vital that we hit the ground running from our first training session.
“Fortunately, the players are used to the heat and humidity after training in these conditions in Corsica, so we are pleased with our preparations and can’t wait to begin the tournament.”
READ MORE: Springboks to back young star and Munster pair for World Cup opener – report
The article Springboks complete ‘unique’ 10 and half hour trip to Toulon for World Cup appeared first on Planetrugby.com.
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