- Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber is eager to get his side on the same page after hosting a three-week training camp ahead of their World Cup title defence.
- South Africa will now host eight players, including Herschel Jantjies, Sbu Nkosi and Deon Fourie in an alignment session in Cape Town this weekend.
- The Springboks will announce their Rugby World Cup squad in August for the September showpiece.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber is hoping to ensure everyone is on the same page ahead of the Rugby World Cup after a training camp concluded on Friday.
In the past three weeks, 14 players took part in a Springbok training camp in Cape Town and another eight will take part in alignment sessions this weekend.
These camps are part of the Boks' preparations for their title defence at the Rugby World Cup in France in September and October.
The Springboks management will host eight players in Cape Town who recently took part in the United Rugby Championship (URC) in two off-field sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
The eight players include Joseph Dweba (hooker), Deon Fourie (utility forward), Marco van Staden (flanker), Evan Roos (No 8), Herschel Jantjies and Grant Williams (scrumhalves), Manie Libbok (flyhalf) and Sbu Nkosi (wing).
"We've planned to host alignment sessions - some in person, such as at these two camps, and others online with the overseas-based players - to ensure that everyone is on the same page in terms of what is expected of them, where we are as a team, and the areas of our game that we would like to improve," said Nienaber.
"With the players we are actively tracking being scattered around the country and the world, it means we need to be innovative in the way we interact with them. But the most important factor is that we have regular communication with them as we work toward the Rugby World Cup.
"The players attending the sessions over the weekend have been participating in the United Rugby Championship, so we are pleased to get this opportunity to work with them face-to-face."
The focus during this period has been to develop their physical capabilities as well as their fundamental skills, and the players will now return to their franchises for the closing stages of the URC and the Champions Cup.
Nienaber said he was satisfied that they had achieved their objectives and will be keeping a close eye on their performance for their respective franchises.
"It was excellent in the sense that we had on-field sessions and off-field alignment sessions, which allowed us to analyse where the game is at this point and what we have to work on, and we were pleased to see the collaboration between the coaches and players," said Springbok coach.
"We'll now keep a close eye on how the players kick on from this and implement what they learned at franchise level."
In preparation for the World Cup, the Springboks will kick off the international season against Australia in Pretoria on Saturday, 8 July, in the opening round of the shortened Rugby Championship.
Nienaber's charges then face Argentina at home (Ellis Park, 29 July), interspersed with away games against New Zealand (Auckland, 15 July) and Argentina (Buenos Aires, 5 August), with Buenos Aires their final southern hemisphere fixture before they head north of the Equator.
Their World Cup preparation will be wrapped up with games against Wales in Cardiff (19 August) and New Zealand in London (25 August) before they travel to France for their World Cup defence.
South Africa will launch their Rugby World Cup title defence on Sunday, 10 September, against Scotland in Marseille, which will be followed by pool matches against Romania in Bordeaux (17 September), Ireland in Paris (23 September) and Tonga in Marseille (1 October).
Nienaber will announce his Rugby World Cup squad on Tuesday, 8 August.