Springboks hoping to execute against Wales to build momentum

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick says the national team are looking to execute their plans and get their international season off to a good start when they battle it out against Wales in their opening game at Twickenham on Saturday (3pm kick-off).

With the Test falling outside of the international window a mixture of experience and youth has been picked for the first match, while another squad will be selected after the Welsh game with all Bok players available for selection for the rest of the international campaign.

Expected changes

Despite expecting some changes to the squad after this weekend, Stick believes the current group has an important job of building momentum into the rest of the season.

“For us it is key to start (the season) well. Not only because of the personnel in place, with us having a new attack and defence coach and the systems we are trying to install as coaches, but if we can execute our plans and see how the players are responding to the new voices, that will be very positive if we start well,” explained Stick.

“That is the type of momentum we are looking for (going into the rest of the season). We know there are going to be some changes when all of our players are available to be selected. But the important thing for us is the more competition we get amongst the players the better it is for us as coaches.

“So we want to build squad depth, but we also want to protect our South African and Springbok emblems. At all times we want to perform at our best and Wales is going to be a good Test for us. They are a very tough and well coached side, so we will be challenged.”

Next World Cup

Looking at the threat that Wales pose, Stick believes that they will offer the Boks the perfect test to get themselves in gear to start building towards the next World Cup (in Australia in 2027), and he is eager for the players to stick to what they have been working on over the past few weeks.

“We had a good training camp in Pretoria and productive alignment camps earlier in the year, which allowed us to start laying a foundation as we build toward 2027,” explained Stick.

“It will be important for us to continue building on the aspects we believe work for us, and to ensure that we do not attempt to try too many new things.

“It’s also vital that we pitch up physically and defend and kick well because those are key aspects to winning matches. So hopefully everything will come together nicely tomorrow.

“We really want to start the season well. We have a long and tough season lined up, so it would be great to do well and start the season on a positive note.”