With the 2023 international season fast approaching, the Springboks are stepping up their preparations for both the Rugby Championship and this year’s showpiece event, the Rugby World Cup in France.

With that in mind, Jacques Nienaber’s charges will meet for two preparation camps in May.

The first will run from 17 to 19 May and the second from 29 to 31 May, with 15 players invited to attend.

It's almost time for the #Springboks to get together again, with 15 players invited to their next set of camps – check out the plans here: https://t.co/Cbrux3PdhF 🏉#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/1oWiMgHOTi

— Springboks (@Springboks) May 8, 2023

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The squad for the camps is made up of local URC teams excluding the Stormers and some players currently based in Japan. Several locally selected players might join the camps after completing their United Rugby Championship commitments.

“With the Vodacom United Rugby Championship nearing an end and the Castle Lager Rugby Championship around the corner, we decided to host two camps to get the ball rolling and get everyone on the same page for the international season,” Nienaber said in reference to the two camps.

“The camps will include both off and on-field sessions, and they will offer us a great opportunity to get the building blocks in place for our first full-on training camp in June in preparation for the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in July.

“These camps will build on those we hosted in Cape Town and Stellenbosch, respectively, at the end of February and March, which included a bunch of locally based players.”

Nienaber added that with a little over four months to go before the World Cup kicks off, every day with the players would count.

“The Castle Lager Rugby Championship is around the corner, and then we have three warm-up games and the World Cup, so we have very little time to get all our plans in place and ensure we peak, in terms of our performance, to give us the best possible chance to defend our title in France.

“This is a crucial season, and it is imperative that we make important strides in each match we play and grow stronger together as a team.”

Players invited to Springbok camps (in alphabetical order):

Lukhanyo Am (Sharks), Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Thomas du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, Jaden Hendrikse, Siya Kolisi (Sharks), Willie le Roux (Toyota Verblitz), Makazole Mapimpi, Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks), Canan Moodie (Bulls), Ox Nche (Sharks), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), Marco van Staden (Bulls), Grant Williams (Sharks).

Springbok 2023 fixtures:

Rugby Championship:

• Saturday, 8 July – Springboks vs Australia (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria) Saturday, 15 July – Springboks vs New Zealand (Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland)
• Saturday, 29 July – Springboks vs Argentina (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)

RWC warm-up fixtures:

• Saturday, 5 August – Springboks v Argentina (Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires) Saturday, 19 August – Springboks vs Wales (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
• Friday, 25 August – Springboks vs New Zealand (Twickenham, London)

RWC fixtures:

• Sunday, 10 September – Springboks v Scotland (Stade Marseille, Marseille)
• Sunday, 17 September – Springboks v Romania (Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
• Saturday, 23 September – Springboks v Ireland (Stade de France, Paris)
• Sunday, 1 October – Springboks v Tonga (Stade Marseille, Marseille)
• Weekend of 14/15 October – Quarter-finals
• Weekend of 21/22 October – Semi-finals
• Saturday, 28 October – Final

News24