The Springboks will be heading off North in the next week as they line up for their first outgoing Autumn Internationals since the end of year tour in 2018. Fortunately the U.K removed South Africa from the red list as of Monday and the side will now not be subjected to harsh bio bubble protocols when they arrive.
The Springboks first play Wales on the 06th of November. The Welsh are a bogey side for the Boks as they play a similar style of attritional rugby which relies heavily on the kick chase and boot to ball strategies. The last time the sides met was the World Cup semi-final in Japan and only a last gasp penalty saw the Boks through to the final.
Next up on the 13th of November, the Springboks face Scotland and Finn Russel, their enigmatic flyhalf will be looking to show off what he could have done against the Boks in the British & Irish Lions series. His introduction to the side for the 3rd test seemed to spark life into the Lions backline and there is no doubting his class. The Scottish side as a whole play an attractive running brand of rugby and the Boks will have to establish dominance up front if they want to minimize the threat of players like Russell and Hogg.
The Boks end their tour off with old nemesis England on the 20th of November. The English will in no doubt be looking to avenge their World Cup humiliation at the hands of the South Africans. This is going to be a massive battle between the sides who competed for the World Cup in 2019. Eddie Jones has made a number of personnel changes for the upcoming fixtures and a player like Marcus Smith could really pose a threat to the Boks out wide. Add to this that Eddie Jones has the former Springbok scrum guru, Matt Proudfoot at his disposal and the English will have more than a few tricks up their sleeves.
The Boks will be bolstered by the return of Cheslin Kolbe and Marco Van Staden whilst Pieter -Steph du Toit and Frans Malherbe won't be making the trip North and RG Snyman is now out due to a re-rupture of his previous knee injury.
The Springboks need to rotate during the tour and whilst many will be expecting them to complete a clean sweep, the game against Wales is probably their biggest stumbling block. The Boks will have to show incredible discipline to conquer Wales, and this is something they lacked during the Rugby Championship. A 2 from 3 win rate would in all likelihood be considered a winning season from a management perspective.
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