Springbok management is shifting gears, and meticulous planning - as was the case building up to their famous 2019 triumph in Japan - is at the heart of preparations for their World Cup title defence in France later this year.
That was the clear takeaway from Wednesday's Stellenbosch media briefing, where Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus was flanked by a member from every senior SA Rugby coaching department, including Junior Boks, Women's Boks and Blitzboks leaders.
It was understandable, though, that the Springboks and coach Jacques Nienaber commanded most of the media attention. This, after all, is a year that will provide Nienaber's team with an opportunity to become the first Bok side to defend a World Cup crown.READ | Nigel Owens to Springboks?
Rassie hopeful ...Nienaber has been in camp with 14 locally-based top Bok players, who have taken a break from the demands of the United Rugby Championship (URC) to rejuvenate and, ultimately, align with the Springbok plan for the year. "There were three or four of the 14 [in the current camp] who came through the Elite Player Development (EPD) programme, which started way back in 2013," Erasmus said on Wednesday. "A guy like Canan (Moodie), Kurt-Lee (Arendse) or Jaden (Hendrikse) ...