- Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber says their plans to set up a camp in Corsica will help the players adapt to the conditions expected at the World Cup.
- The Boks will be based on the mountainous island in the Mediterranean Sea south of France until 1 September, before they will travel to their World Cup base in Toulon.
- At the World Cup, South Africa will feature in Pool B alongside Ireland, Scotland, Tonga and Romania.
Rugby World Cup holders South Africa will hold a training camp in Corsica before beginning their title defence against Scotland in Marseille on 10 September.
Speaking on Friday after a three-day camp in Durban, coach Jacques Nienaber said the Springboks would move to the island after a warm-up game against New Zealand in London on 25 August.
They would remain in the mountainous Mediterranean island until 1 September, when they travel to Toulon to complete preparations for the 20-nation global rugby showpiece.
“The Corsica camp will be ideal for the players to adapt to the conditions in France while fine-tuning preparations for our first World Cup game,” Nienaber said in a statement.
“We reaped the rewards of spending time in Japan before the 2019 World Cup and, hopefully, this camp will be equally beneficial in getting the players used to the French climate and culture.”
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After Scotland, the Springboks face Romania, Ireland, the No 1-ranked team in the world, and Tonga with the Pool B winners and runners-up advancing to the quarter-finals.
The Durban camp involved 15 players, three of whom have been sidelined by injuries – captain and flanker Siya Kolisi, lock Eben Etzebeth and scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse.
A knee injury has left inspirational leader Kolisi racing against the clock to be fit for the World Cup while Etzebeth and Hendrikse are recovering from shoulder injuries.
“We assessed the injured players and will monitor their rehabilitation closely in the next few months,” said Nienaber.
Etzebeth hopes to be available for the Rugby Championship, where South Africa tackle Australia in their opening match on 8 July in Pretoria.
“I am aiming to be ready for the Rugby Championship, but then everything will have to go well, which I believe will happen,” the veteran forward told Rapport newspaper.
After Australia, the world champions visit New Zealand and host Argentina in a Championship reduced from two rounds to one because of the World Cup.
South Africa have three warm-up internationals during August – away to Argentina and Wales and at Twickenham against New Zealand – before heading to Corsica.
Springbok 2023 fixtures:
Rugby Championship:
Saturday, 8 July – Springboks v Australia (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday, 15 July – Springboks v New Zealand (Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland)
Saturday, 29 July – Springboks v Argentina (Ellis Park, Johannesburg)
RWC warm-up fixtures:
Saturday, 5 August – Springboks v Argentina (Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires)
Saturday, 19 August – Springboks v Wales (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Friday, 25 August – Springboks v 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