Springboks' departure to Australia delayed after cancelled flight

The Springboks' departure to Australia was delayed after the cancellation of their flight to Sydney on Thursday evening.

The Boks will now only depart at 12:00 on Friday.

According to SA Rugby, the 34-man Bok squad assembled in Johannesburg early on Thursday afternoon, but their plans were disrupted due to complications relating to the flight crew.

The Boks will have a short stop-over in Sydney before flying to Adelaide on Saturday where they face the Wallabies on 27 August. They will then fly back to Sydney for the second Test there on 3 September.

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber said it was up to them to adapt to the unforeseen circumstances.

"The coaches and conditioning staff have already adapted our training programme to suit our delayed arrival in Australia and we will get back down to business as soon as possible when we arrive Down Under," he said in a statement.  

"Fortunately, this group of players have been together all season and they know our game plan and what we need to do to get our Rugby Championship campaign back on track, and that is our sole focus at this point. 

"We lost a little preparation and travel recovery time, but we have a massive task ahead of us, so we will do everything possible to adapt to the conditions and time zone as quickly as possible once we arrive in Australia and return to the training field."

Props: Steven Kitshoff (Stormers), Vincent Koch (Wasps), Frans Malherbe (Stormers), Ox Nche (Sharks), Trevor Nyakane (Racing 92)

Hookers: Joseph Dweba (Stormers), Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears)

Locks: Eben Etzebeth (Sharks), Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), Salmaan Moerat (Stormers)

Loose forwards: Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), Siya Kolisi (Sharks), Elrigh Louw (Bulls), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka