Durban - The Springboks will hope to be inspired by the all-conquering French emperor Napoleon when they fine-tune their World Cup preparations on the Mediterranean island of his birth, Corsica, near the south of France.
The Springboks are looking to kill time fruitfully in the week or so they have between playing the All Blacks in London on August 25 and moving to their base in Toulon ahead of their opening match, against Scotland on September 10.
The Springboks will be based on the mountainous island until September 1, when they will travel to the French mainland.
“The Corsica camp will be ideal for the players to adapt to the conditions in France while fine-tuning our preparations for our first World Cup game,” said coach Jacques Nienaber.
“We reaped the rewards of spending time in Japan before the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and hopefully this camp will be equally beneficial in getting the players used to the climate and culture in France.
“I’d like to thank the executive council of Corsica and the Corsica Rugby League for welcoming us for this important camp.”
The Springboks will begin their preparations for the Rugby Championship at a training camp in Pretoria from June 12-30, with the team slotting into match mode the following week for their opening match against Australia at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, July 8.
Nienaber’s charges will then depart for New Zealand for their second Test of the condensed version of the competition against the All Blacks at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland (July 15), before returning to South Africa for their closing match against Argentina in Johannesburg (July 29).
The Springboks will play three Rugby World Cup warm-up matches: against Argentina in Buenos Aires (August 5), Wales in Cardiff (August 19) and New Zealand in London (August 25) respectively.
They will then make their way to France for the international extravaganza where they face Scotland in Marseille (September 10), Romania in Bordeaux (September 17), Ireland in Paris (September 23) and Tonga in Marseille (October 1) during the pool stages.
Nienaber revealed his Corsica plans on Friday after concluding a training camp with a small group of players in Durban.
The main aims of the camp were to get the players to switch into Test mode following their club and franchise commitments, and put the groundwork in place for the season, which will culminate in the World Cup.
The squad had five field training sessions and several off-field sessions since assembling in Durban on Tuesday night. The second training camp, which is also in Durban, will run from May 29-31.
“This camp was invaluable in getting the coaches and players on the same page in terms of our structures and systems as we prepare for this important season,” said Nienaber.
“The message from the coaches from day one was that the players had to leave the camp knowing what we expect from them on and off the field in the next few months as we look to select our World Cup squad in August.
“We have another training camp in Durban in two weeks, which will feature a bigger squad as we welcome the Stormers after the United Rugby Championship Grand Final, and perhaps a few more Japanese players who have completed their club commitments.
“That camp will give us another opportunity to get the players into the swing of things before our Pretoria training camp in June.”
@MikeGreenaway67