A group of 12 Springboks have been invited to a four-day training, assessment and conditioning camp to be held in Cape Town next week.

Captain Eben Etzebeth, along with Frans Malherbe, Tendai Mtawarira, Coenie Oosthuizen, Trevor Nyakane, Steven Kitshoff, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Lood de Jager, Siya Kolisi, Handré Pollard, Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel will attend the camp from 23-26 October to give Bok management an opportunity to assess their medical, conditioning and fitness status ahead of the end-of-year tour to Europe.

Current Springbok squad members who are on duty in the Currie Cup playoffs, as well as those who are playing for clubs abroad, were not considered for the camp.

Coach Allister Coetzee says the camp forms an important part of their preparation for their four-Test tour.

‘The European tour will provide us with different challenges and we will therefore use the four days to spend some time on our fundamentals, continued rehabilitation and conditioning of this group of players’, said Coetzee.

‘Our management will be working hard during this period to finalise our detailed planning for the upcoming tour, and overall it will give us a good indication of the progress of those players who have recovered from injury, or those currently battling with niggles.

‘They now had proper rest and recovery for almost two weeks and we must make sure they are rugby ready to ensure optimal performance for the challenges awaiting us.’

The final squad for the end-of-year tour will be announced on 29 October, a day after the Currie Cup final.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix