Boks in UK
Chance for Boks to grow - CJ
2012-11-04 19:28
Dublin - The Springboks arrived in a cold and wet Dublin on Sunday afternoon ahead of their Test against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
The squad of 27 players left South Africa on Saturday evening and after a stopover at Heathrow Airport in London, touched down in the Irish capital shortly after 13:00 on Sunday.
Ruan Pienaar, who played for Ulster on Friday night, drove down from Belfast and linked up with his team-mates on Sunday, while the three other European-based players,
Francois Louw, Schalk Brits and Gurthrö Steenkamp, will arrive in Dublin in the next 24-48 hours.
The second most capped member of the touring squad, CJ van der Linde, said it was good to be back in Dublin, where he played for Irish province Leinster for two seasons.
“There is a lot of Leinster players still in the Ireland setup. I see the weather is still very much the same, but it’s a great city and it’s great to be back in Dublin,” Van der Linde said.
“We’re very excited about the forthcoming tour and we know it won’t be easy, but this provides further opportunity for us to grow as a squad, especially since we have blooded so many youngsters this season.”
After the Ireland game on Saturday, the Boks take on Scotland a week later in Edinburgh before concluding their tour against England in London on November 24.