/ 1 June 2005

Boks practise skills against students

The Springbok coaching staff of Jake White, Gert Smal and Allister Coetzee declared themselves satisfied after the national squad had a good workout against the Shimlas rugby team of the University of the Free State on Tuesday.

A few hundred rugby enthusiasts, including learners and students, turned to out to view the Boks in action.

The practice match lasted for almost an hour.

White summed up the exercise as follows: ”The aim was to focus on our phase play and obviously test some of our moves against opposing players.

”It was something different than the usual field-training drills and the guys enjoyed some time out on the park.”

Meanwhile, lock Gerrie Britz had his first training session earlier in the day after joining the squad on Monday night. He replaces AJ Venter, who will be out for approximately two months with a knee injury, sustained while playing for the Barbarians against England last Saturday.

Os du Randt was also back on the training field on Tuesday, playing the first half against the students, after he sat out most of Monday due to some stiffness in the upper body.

Two further training sessions are scheduled for Wednesday, including another outing against the students at Shimla Park in the late afternoon. — Sapa