Boks preparing for a full dress rehearsal

The drum-roll for the start of the Rugby World Cup has yet to begin but the Springboks are already in Japan and eager to make the fact they are the first visiting team to reach the host nation count for them.

Humid and cloudy conditions greeted the team as they trained on Japanese soil for the first time on Sunday and the sweat and resultant slippery ball would have been a reminder to the players and coaches as to why it was necessary to get to Japan early. The conditions and playing surfaces are expected to be drier and firmer and more conducive to a running game later in the tournament as autumn arrives in that part of the world, but the initial games could be like playing in Durban in summer. Perhaps worse.

The Boks open their World Cup campaign with an important and eagerly anticipated Pool B clash with New Zealand in Yokohama two weeks and one day after they face Japan in their final warm-up game on Friday and coach Rassie Erasmus is expected to use it as a full dress rehearsal. That means he will field the same team against Japan in Kumagaya that he intends to field against the All Blacks.

The indications are that it will mean just one change to the side that beat Argentina in the final game of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, with regular captain Siya Kolisi returning both in his leadership role and in his No 6 jersey. Kwagga Smith will drop out of the match 23 altogether for although his pace could come in handy against the Japanese, Erasmus wants to make this game a proper preparation for the All Black game, when Francois Louw will be the back-up loose-forward to the starting combination of Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Duane Vermeulen.

Erasmus sees the respective front-rows as units, and the good performance they delivered against the Pumas in Salta should see Tendai Mtawarira, Bongi Mbonambi and Trevor Nyakane starting against both Japan and the All Blacks, with Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx and Frans Malherbe bringing the impact later in the game.

Although S’bu Nkosi laid down a marker with his two tries in the most recent win against the Pumas in the warm-up game at Loftus, Erasmus is likely to back Makazole Mapimpi to continue as the starting wing because of the energy he brings to his game. Cheslin Kolbe has done well enough to retain his place on the other wing and has a good understanding with fullback Willie le Roux.

As the first squad to arrive in Japan, the Springboks appear to be attracting a lot of attention. They completed their first training session at their training base in Seki in front of more than 2 000 excited local supporters on Sunday.

The Springboks had a morning gym workout followed by an afternoon field session in Seki, in cloudy but hot and humid conditions (29°C), following a few hours’ sleep after completing their 25-hour journey from South Africa.

“It’s great to be here and the welcome has been great,” said Erasmus at a Sunday lunchtime media conference.

“We’ve heard a lot about Japan from the many players in our squad who have played here, as well as from one of our coaches Matt Proudfoot.

“They have all loved their time in Japan and have talked a lot about it before we arrived, so it’s great to finally be here and to experience it ourselves.

“We did a number of detailed recces before coming out and the hotels and training fields are really outstanding. Now it’s down to business and a very tough and important match against Japan.”

The Boks will travel to the match venue, Kumagaya, which is a 45-minute bullet train ride from Tokyo, on Wednesday.

Erasmus says he is not expecting Friday’s game to be easy and doesn’t need any further reminding that this will be the first meeting between the two nations since Japan’s win over the Boks in Brighton at the start of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

“We have huge respect for Japanese rugby. They have an outstanding coaching team who have been preparing for this game for a while now and they will be determined to prove that 2015 was not a freak result.

“They’re well-conditioned and come off the back of winning the Pacific Nations Cup after victories over USA, Tonga and Fiji, so they have reason to be confident. And they have just equalled their highest ever world ranking (9th).

“They made a movie about the last time they played us – it’s our job to make sure there’s no sequel.”