Springbok assistant coach Tony Brown has been credited with transforming the team’s attack FILE - Springbok assistant coach Tony Brown has been credited with transforming the team’s attack. Photo: Phill Magakoe/AFP
The Springboks will have to deal with the short turnaround time ahead of their game against England at Twickenham in London on Saturday.
Just last Sunday, Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks beat Scotland at Murrayfield, meaning they now have just six days to recover and prepare for their grudge match against the English.
Last week, Erasmus said the team selection for last weekend’s game against the Scots, where a number of players were rested, was made with the clash against England in mind.
According to Springbok assistant coach Tony Brown, that was always part of the plan as they wanted to keep players fresh for both games.
“It’s always tough with a short turnaround because you lose a training day, so the players need to adapt,” New Zealander Brown said on Tuesday.
“That said, we are doing our best to ensure that they are fresh physically and mentally for the match.”
The sentiment was reiterated by Springbok doctor Jerome Mampane, who said their planned ahead of the two games was intentionally geared to keep the players as fresh as possible.
“We have changed our programme this week, but there are still targets the coaches want to achieve, and everyone has planned things in such a way to ensure that the players are as fresh as possible in each contest,” said the doctor.
The former All Blacks flyhalf is approaching the end of his first year with the Springboks, and stating he was love every minute of it.
During the year, Brown has often been praised for transforming the Springboks’ attack.
“It’s a massive honour (to coach the Springboks) and there’s fantastic talent in this team, so it is encouraging for me to find ways to see how we can improve our game and try to create a better attacking style of play, which will hopefully put us in a position to become one of the best attacking teams in the world in future,” Brown said.
Erasmus will announce the team for the clash on Thursday, and is expected to feature a host of players who were not involved in the win over Scotland. Saturday’s Test against England will kick off at 7.40pm.
IOL Sport
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