PERTH – Ruan Dreyer arrived in Perth on Monday to complete the assembly of the full Springbok squad in Western Australia for Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies.
The front-ranker arrived at around midday at the team hotel, and joined his Springbok teammates shortly after lunch on the training fields of the nearby Hale High School.
Dreyer’s arrival in Perth capped a whirlwind week for the prop, who last week witnessed the birth of his first child and played for the Golden Lions in the Currie Cup before jetting out to Australia.
“Blessed and very grateful,” Dreyer, a man of few words, replied when he was asked to describe his experiences over the past few days.
His wife, Zonika, gave birth to baby Anru last Tuesday, just a day after he had returned from Argentina, where the Springboks defeated Los Pumas in Salta.
Meanwhile, Springbok coach Allister Coetzee and vice-captain Siya Kolisi, spoke to the media on Monday.
Coetzee reiterated his caution that the Wallabies will pose a very difficult challenge to South Africa when they meet on Saturday.
“It’s a massive challenge for us, we’re under no illusions,” said Coetzee.
Steven Kitshoff welcomes prop partner Ruan Dreyer in Perth on Monday. Photo: SA Rugby
“We’ve shown tremendous improvement as a team so far this season, but this is a huge test for us this weekend.”
According to Kolisi, the Boks are looking forward to continue their preparations in Perth, where the team’s first field session on Monday afternoon was witnessed by a number of spectators and eager learners of the Hale School, the squad’s training venue for this week.
“We put in a couple of hard sessions in Johannesburg before we flew over, and the full squad kicked off the week’s preparations with another good training effort here at the school,” Kolisi said.
“It was nice to hear so many South African accents amongst the spectators. It’s always pleasing to get good support here in Perth, and the boys enjoyed the interaction afterwards with the supporters.”
The Springbok team to face the Wallabies will be named on Thursday.