Springboks trip to Australia delayed

The Springboks have been hit by logistical issues after their departure to Australia was delayed due to a cancelled flight.

A Thursday evening flight was cancelled and they will now fly today (Friday) before arriving in Adelaide on Saturday.

The squad of 34 players assembled in Johannesburg early on Thursday afternoon and were set to fly to Adelaide via Sydney later that evening, but their plans were disrupted due to complications relating to the flight crew.

They face back to back Tests against Australia before returning for two more back to back Tests against Los Pumas, one in Buenos Aires and one in Durban.

“We are a solution-driven team and we will not gain anything by allowing unforeseen circumstances such as this to derail our plans," said South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber.

“The coaches and conditioning staff have already adapted our training programme to suit our delayed arrival in Australia and we will get back down to business as soon as possible when we arrive Down Under.”

Nienaber added: “Fortunately this group of players have been together all season and they know our game plan and what we need to do to get our Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign back on track, and that is our sole focus at this point.

“We lost a little preparation and travel recovery time, but we have a massive task ahead of us, so we will do everything possible to adapt to the conditions and time zone as quickly as possible once we arrive in Australia and return to the training field.”

The Rugby Championship is evenly split after two rounds, with all four teams on one win and one loss apiece.