RWC 2023: Springboks arrive in France to defend title

Having based themselves on the island of Corsica for the week, the Springboks are now in Toulon after a ten-and-a-half-hour overnight ferry.

The Boks will now start preparations for their tournament opener against Scotland in Marseille on Sunday. 

"We had a great ferry trip, which was a unique experience for the team, and we are thrilled to finally be in Toulon for the World Cup," said Nienaber on Sunday.

"It was an overnight trip, so the players managed to get good rest and we are now officially in World Cup mode.

"We ticked the boxes we wanted to from a training perspective in Corsica and we’ll return to the field raring to go on Tuesday.

"It feels surreal to be here. We've been working toward this goal for four years and we are now officially one week away from playing our first match.

"There’s a lot of excitement in the group and the team is completely aligned in terms of what we have to do if we want to be successful in France." 

The #Springboks have arrived in France for @rugbyworldcup 2023 - more here: https://t.co/ol3jZtfCE6 ?#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/yxxjxIgUCF

Nienaber was confident, meanwhile, that preparations for Scotland were on track.

"We said from the outset that we would approach the tournament one match at a time, and the hard work behind the scenes to prepare for the Scotland clash started in Corsica already," said Nienaber.

"They are ranked fifth in the world, and we know what they are capable of, so it’s vital that we hit the ground running from our first training session.

"Fortunately, the players are used to the heat and humidity after training in these conditions in Corsica, so we are pleased with our preparations and can’t wait to begin the tournament."

The Springboks are also pooled alongside