Nienaber thrilled with Bok players performances in Europe

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber is thrilled with the performance of various Springbok players around the world and the progress of their respective teams into finals in different competitions.

A large contingent of Bok players will be in action when the Stormers take on the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship final in Cape Town on Saturday, before joining up with the squad next week ahead of the coming international season.

A few Bok players will also be involved in major playoffs in England and France, with the Premiership final also taking place this weekend, while the Top 14 semifinals will be battled out.

The experience gained by these players taking part in major competitions is extremely valuable to the Bok management and they are not worried by not having them available for camp, especially if they go all the way.

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“For us having two teams in the final is awesome. I think if you look at the long term development of the players who are playing in these big quarter, semi and finals of the URC, that is development of a player that you can’t buy,” explained Nienaber.

“You want players to play in big games like this. The development and experience they gain playing in big matches like this is invaluable. So it’s great for us to see them operating in these major games.

“That counts for the Top 14 and Premiership as well. We want to see Jasper (Wiese) play in a Premiership final, we want to see Handre (Pollard) playing in a Top 14 final. We want to see South Africans playing in big competitions.”

Along with the above-mentioned Wiese and Pollard, Joseph Dweba (Bordeaux), Vincent Koch (Saracens) and Rynhardt Elstadt (Toulouse) are the other Bok squad members who will all be involved in major playoff games over the weekend.

Major tournaments featuring Springbok players this weekend:

Friday:

Top 14 semifinal – Castres v Toulouse at 9:05pm

Saturday:

English Premiership final – Leicester Tigers v Saracens at 3pm

United Rugby Championship final – Stormers v Bulls at 7:30pm

Top 14 semifinal – Montpellier v Bordeaux at 9:05pm