The Springboks wrapped up two days of field sessions in Johannesburg on Saturday as Rassie Erasmus brought the full squad into alignment ahead of the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series opener against the All Blacks at 10bet Ellis Park next Saturday (22 August, 17h10).
The players who travelled to Buenos Aires for last week's 17-10 win over Argentina returned to South Africa in two groups on Monday night and Tuesday, spending the first part of the week on flush-out and gym work to manage the time-zone shift before rejoining the full group on the training field on Friday. The squad has been given Sunday and Monday off before Test week begins in earnest.
Hooker Johan Grobbelaar and utility forward Elrigh Louw have been released to the Bulls for their RGR match against the All Blacks on Saturday evening and will rejoin the national squad on Sunday.
"This series is almost like playing the knock-out stages of a Rugby World Cup because we are facing one of the world's best week in and week out," said Erasmus, who also acknowledged the work done by the group that remained in South Africa during the Argentina trip.
The four-Test series moves from Johannesburg to the DHL Stadium in Cape Town (29 August), FNB Stadium in Johannesburg (5 September), and concludes at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore (12 September).