Guess who's back? Willie le Roux is swooping into Durban to join the Springboks' training sessions, even though he won't be playing in the upcoming Rugby Championship clashes. The team, currently shaking off their jet lag from a New Zealand trip, welcomed Willie on Sunday. While he's not on the official roster for the games at Kings Park and later at Twickenham, having a player of his caliber in the mix is sure to add some spice to their preparations.
Willie, a shining star with over 100 caps, will be sporting the Vodacom Bulls jersey again soon, as he heads back to Pretoria post-Wednesday training. He'll be ready and raring to go for the Bulls’ first clash in the Vodacom URC against the Ospreys at Loftus Versfeld. But before that, he's lending his expertise to help the Boks sharpen their claws.
"Willie is a member of our wider squad, and we feel it will benefit us to have him train with us early in the week,"
explained coach Erasmus. He emphasized the importance of top-notch training sessions,"We try to train the way we play, and by having him in camp it will allow us to improve the quality of our training sessions ahead of this vital match."
With the Boks sitting snugly in second place on the Rugby Championship leaderboard, every move counts. They're tying with the All Blacks and trailing just behind the Wallabies. It’s a tight squeeze at the top, and the Boks are hungry for that title.
Big thanks were also extended to Johan Ackermann and the Bulls for their flexibility, "I’d like to thank Johan Ackermann and the Bulls for releasing him to train with us," Erasmus added, sending well-wishes to all the South African teams kicking off their URC campaigns.
The Springboks are gearing up to make the upcoming matches count, with training already underway in Durban since last Thursday. It’s game on!
Springbok squad:
Forwards – Pieter-Steph du Toit, Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Bongi Mbonambi, Franco Mostert, Ox Nche, Ruan Nortje, Kwagga Smith, RG Snyman, Marnus van der Merwe, Marco van Staden, Boan Venter, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Jasper Wiese.
Backs – Damian de Allende, Faf de Klerk, Andre Esterhuizen, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ethan Hooker, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Manie Libbok, Makazole Mapimpi, Canan Moodie, Handré Pollard, Cobus Reinach, Morne van den Berg, Damian Willemse, Grant Williams.