Springbok coach Allister Coetzee has expressed his satisfaction at the outcome of the Springbok medical and conditioning assessment camp which was held over the past four days in Stellenbosch. Coetzee described the camp a great benefit for the Boks’ upcoming Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign.

“The camp was a very good exercise and I am very pleased that we have achieved all our goals,” said Coetzee. “The intervention was important because some of our players would have been out of action for up to 35 days, which is not ideal. The time we spent together this week gave us ample time to focus on our core skills and also our technical approach. We want to ensure we are rugby ready, well-conditioned and in a good mental space when the group assembles in two weeks’ time in Port Elizabeth. 

The Currie Cup Premier Division, proudly sponsored by DirectAxis and Nashua, will step into a new gear this weekend, with DHL Western Province kicking off their campaign, while three teams will look to bounce back from first round defeats.

DHL Western Province, who were losing semi-finalists last season, will meet the defending champion Toyota Free State Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Sunday in their opening match of the season after having a bye last week, while the Xerox Golden Lions, Tafel Lager Griquas and the Cell C Sharks will be determined to make up for disappointing starts to the season.

An unchanged Emirates Lions side will aim to reach their second successive Vodacom Super Rugby final when they host defending champions, the Hurricanes, at 14h30 on Saturday at Emirates Arline Park in Johannesburg.

The first semi-final will be contested on Saturday morning between the Crusaders and fellow Kiwi side the Chiefs, who meet each other at 09h35 (SA time) in Christchurch.

Six players who featured in the SA Schools and SA Schools A teams in the Under 19 International Series last season will add experience to the 28-member squad named on Thursday for the 2017 edition of the tournament in Cape Town.

Centre Rikus Pretorius was a member of the triumphant SA Schools team that registered a whitewash in the 2016 series, while scrumhalf Sanele Nohamba, flankers Dylan Richardson and Mark Snyman, lock Juan van der Mescht and prop Keagan Glade all represented the SA Schools A team.