has confirmed that it will reintroduce the 20-minute Red Card law trial for the Rugby Championship in which a red-carded player can be replaced after 20 minutes. The law was first trialed in Super Rugby in 2020 and last year in the Rugby Championship and protects 15 on 15 contests which SANZAR says fans, broadcasters and unions believe are important.
The Springboks know they have much to work on in the build-up to back-to-back fixtures against New Zealand in August. Bok coach, Jacques Nienaber admits that South Africa was far from perfect in the Welsh series, but at least they know exactly where they stand at the moment. New Zealand was shown up against Ireland in an unprecedented series loss to the men from the Emerald Isle. However, the Springbok hard men, like Marvin Orie believe the All Blacks will give the Bok set pieces, a thorough test regardless of the frailties that were exposed by the Irish.
Boks management are also not reading too much into personnel changes in the Kiwi ranks, a reaction to that series loss to Ireland. Nienaber cites the example of the Springboks having to replace their backline coach mere months before the World Cup and that didn’t impact the team negatively in the slightest.