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Springboks Lock RG Snyman Believes Ireland Tests Provided Ideal Preparation for Rugby Championship Opener
August 3, 2023 – Springboks lock RG Snyman believes their two-Test series against Ireland offered the perfect preparation for the team’s upcoming Rugby Championship opener against the Wallabies.
The 29-year-old, who has played for Munster in recent seasons and will join Leinster ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, faced many familiar faces during the epic Ireland series. Now, Snyman’s focus is firmly on the Rugby Championship and their Round One meeting with Australia in Brisbane, a challenge he insists the Springboks are well-equipped to handle.
“I don’t think we could have had better preparation than facing Ireland going into the Rugby Championship, and we certainly learned a few things in those matches which we would like to carry into this competition,” Snyman explained. “Ireland prepared us really well for playing against Australia because they’ve a lot of systems that Joe Schmidt set up during his time there.”
The Springboks touched down in Australia over a week before the Suncorp Stadium showdown, which Snyman believes has been beneficial. “Arriving in Australia the week before the Test was beneficial because it allowed us more time to overcome the jet lag, and especially outside of the Test week itself as well. The guys are now well settled into the time zone, and we are training full-out and feel good, so we are excited about Saturday’s match.”
While there may be stylistic differences between Ireland and Australia, Snyman notes that there will be similarities at set-piece time. “There will be some differences stylistically between the two teams but in a lot of ways there will be similarities come set-piece time but we are looking forward to that challenge.”
The Springboks’ move to the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions means there is less familiarity with the Wallabies’ playing styles and individual battles. “It’s certainly different prepping against them having not faced the guys throughout the season it is a little bit different in that way,” Snyman said. “There has been a lot of extra work going into this week with, watching player profiles and seeing who’s going to play and studying up on guys and past games here previously we would have seen that during the Super Rugby season.”
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