Springboks captain Siya Kolisi admits his side is a "long way off" their match fitness compared to their sucessful Rugby World Cup campaign 12 months ago.
Kolisi captained the Springboks Green team to a 25-9 win over Springboks Gold in a 'Springbok Showdown' at Newlands on Sunday (NZ time) in a match that gave South African selectors the chance to look at players for the Rugby Championship squad, along with the talent for the future.
For the majority of the players, it was just their second game after a six-month layoff due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Kolisi was inspirational as he scored one of his side's three tries while Gold could only manage three penalties.
Last week, South Africa's director of rugby Rassie Erasmus expressed his concerns that Springboks players would be severely underprepared for the Rugby Championship considering New Zealand and Australian players have already completed their domestic Super Rugby seasons, while they'll play two tests before the four-nation tournament starts next month.
Erasmus will confirm by October 10 if the Springboks will indeed travel to Australia for the Rugby Championship. From Kolisi's perspective, they will have to do lots more work to compete with the All Blacks and Wallabies.
"We are in a good place as South African rugby with our talent, but we are a long way off in terms of fitness and match readiness from where we were at the World Cup," says Kolisi.
South Africa's domestic Super Rugby season will kick off next weekend but the Springboks players would likely only get one more game as Erasmus said the latest they could leave for Australia is October 18.
Springboks assistant Mzwandile Stick said they would continue preparing the team as if they are going to Australia, but whether they do or not remains uncertain.
"Our job is to make sure that we prepare the players," says Stick. "Since the start of the year and during lockdown there has been a lot of information shared between us and the players.
"We are doing everything in our power to make sure the players are ready, but because they haven't played for six months it's also very important to manage the players.
"Even now, you can see players getting small, little injuries. So, the most important thing right now is player welfare and how we look after them.
"If our executive and director of rugby, Erasmus, decide we have to go, then we will do everything in our power to make sure we're ready to go."
