Cape Town - Despite a shortened Rugby Championship this year thanks to the Rugby World Cup, the Springboks are looking forward to getting the season underway against the Wallabies on Saturday.

On Monday, Springbok assistant coach Matt Proudfoot told the media at the team hotel at Montecasino in Johannesburg that they are looking ahead at an exciting week.

“We arrived in Johannesburg on Sunday and everyone is buzzing – we realise it’s a huge year for the Springboks and for the country,” said Proudfoot.

“This season provides us with a huge challenge, and with every challenge we realise that there are important steps along the way, and the most important step is the first one. We’ve prepared well for this Test against Australia and we are looking forward to this challenge.

“We’ve had some time together as a group and everyone is aligned on what we want to achieve. It has been very pleasing to see how the players have taken ownership during this period.”

Proudfoot was also pleased with the game time and performance of Lood de Jager, who played just over 50 minutes for the Blue Bulls in this weekend’s Currie Cup opening round.

It was the Springbok lock’s first time back on the field since he was side-lined with an injury early in the 2019 Super Rugby campaign.

“Lood understood and executed their plan and now we are looking forward to get him firing in our system,” said Proudfoot.

The Springboks resumed training for Saturday’s Test with a good morning workout in the gym as well as a solid field session in the afternoon.

Rassie Erasmus, the SA Rugby Director of Rugby, will announce the Springbok match day squad on Wednesday.