VIDEO: Mauritius and other destinations for Rassie's Boks
As the euphoria of South Africa winning the Rugby Championship title dies down, plans are being made for the end-of-year tour.
The Springboks bagged another trophy when they beat Argentina 48-7 in the final round of the Rugby Championship, but the Outgoing Tour in November now looms large.
The Springboks will line up against World Cup opponents, Scotland and England, before taking on Wales in the Outgoing Tour in November.
The double world champions will kick off the tour on Sunday, November 10 in Edinburgh against the seventh-ranked Scotland who they faced in the opening game of their 2023 RWC campaign.
Then they take on World Cup semifinalists England, currently ranked fifth in the world, in London on Saturday, November 16, and Wales (ranked 11th) in Cardiff, a week later on November 23.
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This will mark the first time the Springboks cross paths with Scotland since their 18-3 victory in Marseille in September last year, while it will be their first outing in Edinburgh since November 2021, which the Boks won 30-15.
The last time the Boks faced England at Twickenham was in November 2022, where they clinched a 27-13 victory, while they last lined up against Wales in Cardiff in a World Cup warmup match, where they registered a record-breaking 52-16 victory.
The clash against Wales, meanwhile, will mark their second outing against their Welsh counterparts this year, as the teams faced each other in the Boks’ opening match of the season at Twickenham on Saturday, June 22.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus explained what will happen with the players in the next few weeks as preparation begins.
“Each player has a different situation.
“Some players are on leave, some players will play URC, some are playing in France, some are going to Mauritius - four or five guys organised with their franchises to take their rest now.
“Eben is one of them that is going to Mauritius,” the coach revealed.
He stressed that the coaching staff would not be taking any time off, but rather using the opportunity to keep an eye on the United Rugby Championship.
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“For us, it is to watch the URC," Erasmus said.
"We watched the Currie Cup to see how players like Quan Horn, who was part of our team, faired in the Currie Cup, just like Morne van den Berg who will play [URC] now.
“Thomas [du Toit] will probably go back to Bath and then we have a tough three-match schedule in which we would like to be unbeaten.
“It would be a great season [year] if we could only lose two games.
“[The players are] off for three weeks, not the coaches. They will be with their franchises and after three weeks, the available guys will gather in Cape Town.
“It will include about ten players playing in England and Japan and as the players get released, we will start preparing the last two weeks before we go overseas.”