Scotland’s South African edge was a focus point as the Springboks wrapped their pre-World Cup training camp in Corsica.
The Boks on Friday packed up their preparations on the Mediterranean island, with just over a week to go until their World Cup campaign gets under way.
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The world champions will depart for their World Cup base in Toulon on Saturday, and Jacques Nienaber said the excitement had kicked in.
“We had a really good week, with a solid conditioning block. The conditions here are similar to Durban. It’s hot and humid, but it was great for the players to get used to the conditions and we got some good work done,” said Nienaber.
“I have butterflies from excitement. We’ve been working toward this for four years, so we are very excited to get the competition started.”
The defending champions will begin their title defence on Sunday, 10 September, against the Scots in Marseille, before facing Romania (17 September), Ireland (23 September) and Tonga (1 October) in their remaining pool matches.
Scotland have a number of familiar faces in their squad, including tackle-busting wing Duhan van der Merwe.
Gregor Townsend’s side are known for their ball-in-hand approach, but are expected to present a physical match for the Boks with a scrum boosted by South African props WP Nel and Pierre Schoeman, both coached by Pieter de Villiers, the former France prop who was initially contracted by the Springboks in 2018.
“They are a fit team and because of that, they can get stuck in and play for over 80 minutes,” said Nienaber. “That’s certainly one of their strengths.
“We know Pieter de Villiers (Scotland’s scrum coach) well, and they also have strong set pieces, which allows them to play with the ball and with a lot of rhythm.”
The Boks will arrive in Toulon on Sunday morning and start with their on-field preparations for their World Cup opener on Monday.
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Photo: Geoff Caddick / AFP