KAGOSHIMA – Rassie Erasmus says the Springboks are now fully immersed in the excitement as the Rugby World Cup draws nearer.
The Director of Rugby was talking at the team’s press conference in Kagoshima, Japan, on Friday.
“This morning when we got up you could feel the change,” said Erasmus.“We were on Rugby World Cup buses rather than City of Kagoshima buses, the liaison officers were wearing Rugby World Cup shirts, we had accreditation round our necks to get into the training ground so you could definitely feel a shift in atmosphere."
The Springboks will transfer from their training base in the south-east corner of Japan on Saturday to Tokyo where they will be greeted at an official welcome ceremony in Urayusu City.
It will mark the beginning of the next stage – match-week against New Zealand – in a carefully mapped campaign by Springbok management.
“We have been together for 11, 12 weeks now, basically away from home most of the time, and we have certainly got closer as a team,” said Erasmus. “We have achieved a lot of the objectives we set in coming early to Japan.
“The first was to get to know the country and the people and how things operate here and to be comfortable in the country and we’ve achieved that. The second one was to get some match time against good opposition, which was Japan, and we achieved that.
“And then obviously the third one was to get the guys used to the climatic conditions, not just the heat, but the humidity, both in match and in training time and we’ve done that.”
Schalk Brits during Friday's media conference. Photo: Steve Haag Sports / Hollywoodbets
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said: “I think it was a great call for us to come early and it has been a great privilege. We know how to handle the conditions now and the fact that our training has been very hard means it will stand us in good stead. The benefits will come through later in the games."
Meanwhile Erasmus has noticed something different in Japan. “Something that has stood out for me – and I don’t think I’ve seen this anywhere else – is the people of the host nation wearing the jersey of the visiting team – the Springbok badge.
“I think that’s been amazing to see the Japanese people wearing the Springbok jersey. I think that shows a lot of respect and I think we can learn a lot from that.