By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has confirmed that Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende have been released from camp ahead of the Springboks’ clash with Australia in Perth next weekend.
The two players started all the Four Games against the All Blacks in the Rugby Greatest Series where they were crowned champions.
Erasmus said there is sufficient cover within the travelling squad for the match at the 61,000-capacity Optus Stadium, which kicks off at 11:45am (SA time).
Springboks will go into the fixture having won seven of the eight Tests in 2026, the last three on the bounce, while the Wallabies’ record for the year so far is four wins and a draw in seven matches.
The world champions arrived in Sydney on Wednesday and, after busing up to Terrigal, resumed training on Friday before flying to Perth next Thursday, three days before the match.
Erasmus said: “This is a Test match against a country we’ve had a rivalry with since I can remember.”
“Since David Campese scored that beautiful try, Pieter Hendriks got the opening try against them in Cape Town at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and since I played against players like George Gregan and Stephen Larkham when the Brumbies were one of the best teams in the world.”
“It’s not a tour we want to finish off casually. This is a great country, and the World Cup is being hosted here next year, so it’s massive to be able to play against the World Cup hosts in a big Test match.”
“They’ll be really fresh and they’ve won four out of five of their recent matches, while we come off a tough series against New Zealand. But RGR and this match have nothing to do with each other. This is a completely different challenge.”
Kolisi agreed with Erasmus and said: “You always adjust for each team, but our core values are going to remain the same. Australia is completely different to New Zealand, so we’ll have to readjust certain things. It’s going to be a big challenge.”
Commenting on how the players were feeling after the long journey from the USA to Australia, where they are currently based in Terrigal north of Sydney, before making the trip to Perth next week Thursday, Kolisi said: “It’s been a long journey, but it was a great success in the USA, and being here in Australia now and preparing for this game is really important.”