Rugby World Cup: 2019 Springboks ‘weren’t even close’ to where they are now says Lukhanyo Am

Star centre Lukhanyo Am believes the Springboks in the build-up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup are not “even close” to where they are now with this year’s global showpiece on the horizon.

The Springboks have just finished their first of two training camps with the next set to take place on May 29 to May 31 in Durban as they ramp up their preparation for their World Cup defence in France later this year.

Am is one of the stars who took part in the training camp and has been a key figure in the team since the Springboks‘ triumph in Japan in 2019.

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Experience is key

The Sharks centre believes in 2019 the team was still building but now there is valuable experience for the squad to lean on.

“I think in 2019 where we were as a team, we were still almost in a building phase,” Am told TheSouthAfrican. “There were a lot of new individuals in the squad [in 2019]. We weren’t even close to where we are now.”

“In 2023, we’re the defending world champions, we’ve managed to keep most of the playing group that we had in 2019 together, which means we’ve got a helluva lot of experience in the squad and that’s one of the things that’ll work in our favour.”

Before the rugby world descends on France in September to fight for the World Cup the Springboks have a shortened Rugby Championship ahead of them beginning with a fixture at Loftus Versfeld against Eddie Jones’ Wallabies.

Proper preparation

Am is looking forward to the competition, especially this year as it serves as preparation for the global showpiece.

“I’m looking forward to the Rugby Champs,” Am said. “It’s always exciting being part of the national team and this year it’s more special because the Rugby Championship is preparation for the World Cup.

“We all are in this World Cup [the 20 qualified team], but we have the Rugby Championship almost as a stepping stone to prepare as much as we can for the World Cup. It’s going to be a good indicator for us to know as a team where we at and what we need to work on building to the World Cup,” said Am.

Springboks fixtures

The Rugby Championship:

Saturday, July 8 – Springboks vs Australia (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday, July 17 – Springboks vs New Zealand (venue TBC)
Saturday, July 29 – Springboks vs Argentina (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)

Rugby World Cup warm-up fixtures:

Saturday, August 5 – Springboks v Argentina (venue TBC)
Saturday, August 19 – Springboks vs Wales (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
Friday, August 25 – Springboks vs New Zealand (Twickenham, London)

Rugby World Cup pool fixtures:

Sunday, September 10 – Springboks v Scotland (Stade Velodrome, Marseille)
Sunday, 17 September – Springboks v Romania (Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Saturday, September 23 – Springboks v Ireland (Stade de France, Paris)
Sunday, October 1 – Springboks v Tonga (Stade Velodrome, Marseille)
Weekend of 14/15 October – Quarter-finals
Weekend of 21/22 October – Semi-finals
Saturday, October 28 – Final