The Springboks will kick off their end-of-year tour against Japan this Saturday, which sees the No 1 side in the world taking on the team in 13th spot in the rankings.
Yet, just this past weekend, Japan gave the Wallabies quite a scare in a game that saw Australia scrap their way to an unconvincing 19-15 win.
It’s a healthy reminder for the Springboks to ensure they don’t take this Saturday’s game too lightly, with kick off at 18:10 SA time at the Wembley Stadium.
As it stands, the Springboks are comfortably ensconced at the top of the world rugby rankings, 2.18 points ahead of New Zealand, and 2.37 points ahead of third-placed Ireland.
SPRINGBOKS ARE WELL PLACED AT THE TOP OF THE LATEST WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS
| Team | Points |
| 1. South Africa | 92.20 |
| 2. New Zealand | 90.02 |
| 3. Ireland | 89.83 |
| 4. France | 87.82 |
| 5. England | 87.64 |
| 6. Argentina | 84.12 |
| 7. Australia | 83.30 |
| 8, Scotland | 81.57 |
| 9. Fiji | 81.16 |
| 10. Italy | 77.77 |
READY FOR ACTION
Rassie Erasmus said the Springboks were excited to soon be back in action, but admitted that it would be a challenging tour, with five Test matches lined up against quality opposition.
“We are excited about the tour and to measure ourselves against some of the best teams in the world,” said Erasmus.
“A lot of hard work has been put in behind the scenes since the Championship for this tour, and hopefully this will set us in good standing to build on our season so far.
“Obviously, the conditions are vastly different in the UK and Europe to South Africa this time of the year, but fortunately, most of the players in the squad have been exposed to those conditions either during their United Rugby Championship tours or by playing for overseas clubs.
“The time zone is also very similar to South Africa, which means we can slot back into full Test mode immediately from our first training session on Monday.”
