JANTJIES BACK TRAINING AFTER SALTA INJURY; Rugby 365

NEWS: SPRINGBOK FLYHALF ELTON JANTJIES AND SCRUMHALF FRANCOIS HOUGAARD HAVE RETURNED TO THE TRAINING FIELD ON SATURDAY AFTER THE BOKS' ARRIVAL IN AUSTRALIA.

The return of the halfback pairing is good news for the Springboks ahead of their Rugby Championship match against Australia.

Both suffered injury niggle recently. Jantjies was forced to leave the field early against Argentina in Salta last weekend after he sustained a bruise to the thigh. While Hougaard missed both Tests against the Pumas with a troublesome knee.
 
Springbok coach Allister Coetzee stated he was very happy with his squad’s first training session at the Anglican Church School field in Brisbane and the squad will have a rest on Sunday before resuming their preparations on Monday.

"Elton Jantjies came through his training exercises very well and so did Francois [Hougaard], so all of the players are ready to go when we resume preparations on Monday," confirmed Coetzee.

Regarding the battle against the Wallabies, Coetzee said: "We know the Wallabies will be looking to turn the tables on us this weekend, but we are focusing on ourselves and we want to make sure we eliminate the unforced errors and deliver a much-improved performance,"

Coetzee added his players have already benefitted from their earlier arrival in Australia.

"I am very happy that we’ve come to Brisbane a couple of days earlier than usual. Arriving here on the Friday allowed us to have a good training session [on Saturday]. We’ve crossed several time-zones the past few days, first flying to Argentina and back home, and then down to Australia.

"I am very satisfied with the way the players have performed during training, and it shows the team has adapted well to the local conditions," explained Coetzee.

Prop Tendai Mtawarira also cautioned that Australia will be a difficult opponent next weekend.

"The Wallabies are always tough to play against on their home turf.  They are a very good technical side and we will have to make sure we prepare well for them.

"Individual mistakes cost us in Salta and we have to rectify those mistakes during training in the coming week, so that don’t repeat them against Australia.  

Mtawarira equalled the Springbok appearance record of Os du Randt last weekend in Salta when he played in his 80th Test for the Springboks.

 This is old news now but no one posted it so here it is.
Jantjies still remains a player with doubts surrounding his performance. If he is up against Cooper their will be two erratic 10s on the field at the same time. 
Janjies needs a good back up from the bench.
I pick the Wobblies to win this game as their record on their home pitch is formidable as far as the Boks are concerned. 

Battle of the losers. The coach who wins this game will have a reprieve at best but the coach who loses is on very thin ice indeed.

For Allister Coetzee a loss will mean last place on the RC log after losses to Ireland and Argentina earlier in the season.

For Michael Cheika it will mean 7 straight test match losses for the Wallabies.

 My money is on the Aussies......cannot for the life of me see the "Goats"winning any time soon.
Still possible to get great odds on them losing both Aussie and All Blacks tests.

 Oz has played England and the All Blacks....we have played Ireland and Argentina. 

 Im off to see the test next week end ,I shall be wearing my ABs jumper for both inner and outer warmth .I reckon I may well be the only happy lookin dude there ,scan the crowd I will stick out like a black-head on bart Simpsons face !