Australia v Springboks preview: Perth ‘pelting’ awaits wounded Wallabies as Rassie Erasmus’ charges claim historic double
The Wallabies and Springboks clash at Optus Stadium in Perth on Saturday as the Rugby Championship enters the second round of action.
Joe Schmidt’s side head into the game off the back of a 33-7 thumping at the hands of South Africa and will be eager to put in a far better display against a much-changed Springbok outfit.
Meanwhile, Rassie Erasmus has taken the gamble of making 10 alterations to his starting XV, which means that RG Snyman will be the only player who will leave Australia without any playing minutes.
While it is a largely youthful Springboks outfit, it still boasts seven Rugby World Cup winners in the starting XV, with a further eight on the bench – a fact that will not escape Schmidt.
The South Africans will also be well aware of the records that await them in victory as they are currently on a three-game winning streak over the Wallabies in Australia – the last time they recorded a longer such run was a four-match span from July 1971 to July 1993.
Having won their last three encounters overall against Australia by an average margin of 24.3 points, the Boks also have a chance of going four in a row against the Wallabies, something which they have not achieved since a streak of seven wins between 1969 and 1971.
In contrast, Schmidt’s charges will be looking to react swiftly to their humbling last week when their winning start under their new head coach came to an abrupt end.
Where the game will be won
Copy and paste from last week, if the Wallabies have any chance of turning last week’s result against the Springboks around, they will have to muscle up in the set-pieces. Simply, Australia were atrocious at scrum time and in the lineouts and they can ill afford to put in any kind of performance that even closely resembles what occurred in Brisbane.
Schmidt has reacted to that showing by promoting Josh Nasser to the starting XV along with welcoming the return of Angus Bell alongside skipper Allan Alaalatoa, but will it be enough against the changed Bok front-row? Much will rely on Jan-Hendrik Wessel’s outing as the Bulls front-rower has played most of his senior rugby at hooker but packs down across from Alaalatoa.
Unlike the Brisbane Test, the Boks have an out-and-out lineout general in Ruan Nortje who will make life difficult for Nasser and his jumpers.
The Wallabies boss has spoken about the Boks’ suffocating tactics and that begins at set-piece time before the gain-line and kicking battle commences and unless there is a drastic shift in the performances upfront, it will be a very one-sided game again.
What happened in Round One
What they said
Wallabies head coach Schmidt is expecting much of the same from the Springboks despite the mass changes to the matchday 23 and highlighted key operators for the visitors.
“In the contest areas last week, it was them bringing the physicality on the front foot, even if we had the ball, it was it was very, very hard to breathe at times,” Schmidt explained.
“And that’s exactly the way they like it, they don’t need the ball to attack you. At the same time, I have to say that they attack pretty well with the ball and they don’t lose anything by bringing in Lukhanyo Am at 12 – he has got that short kicking game and that’s a real weapon, obviously.
“[Makazole] Mapimpi on the wing, [Aphelele] Fassi at the back does change things slightly as he brings more of a big strong running game as opposed to the distribution that Willie le Roux has.
“The game that Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] brought last week I thought was pretty impressive. We shut him down one time and it was out the back of the hand and on a plate for the guy outside him. That’s the intangible things that they do that makes the job of shutting them down difficult.”
Looking at what Australia can do better, he added: “If we can be accurate and make better use of our opportunities and in the first half I thought we were unlucky a few times but that’s going to happen sometimes and we can’t stack penalties on top of penalties and allow them into the corner or allow them an easy three points.”
Springboks number eight Elrigh Louw, who earns just his second start this weekend, believes that the Wallabies will put in an improved showing in the second Test.
“The Wallabies will definitely come back better,” he said.
“They’ll sharpen up their game and we’re ready for that. For us it will be important not be caught out by their tactics and plans, so we just have to go out there and execute our game to the best of our ability.”
On a personal note, the Bok bruiser is eager to build on a strong outing last week.
“I certainly got a bit of confidence from last week with my first start and I know what to expect this week,” he added.
“I can’t really change much in the way I play, but I can go out there and give my best for the team.
“Everyone has a role to play in the team, and looking back in my career, there isn’t much of a difference between playing No 8 and flanker. As a player, I just like to have my hands on the ball and to try to play my game.”
Players to watch
On the whole, the Wallabies were poor against the Boks but one man who can hold his high after his performance is number eight Harry Wilson, who gets a second shot at the world champions. While many of his teammates struggled to crack the Springboks’ airtight defence, Wilson had no such issues as he managed to cross the gain line with all but one of his 11 carries. He was also a kingpin at the lineout where he won a round high of seven.
Staying with the Wallabies pack but this time on the bench, as Tom Hooper returns to the squad and will cover lock and the back-row for Australia. Hooper was a real standout for the woeful Wallabies last year and still has a bright future at international rugby if he is able to convince Schmidt to give him more opportunities going forward, but he needs to take this one. He is a real all-court threat and a workhorse.
We cannot overlook the other returnee, Marika Koroibete. On form, he is one of the most lethal finishers in the game and brings the kind of physicality needed to front up against the Springboks. While he will be stationed out on the wing, do not be shocked to see him popping up in the middle of the park and knowing Schmidt, he has a set move or two that will get the best use out of the powerhouse winger’s nigh on endless talents.
While Koroibete and Makazole Mapimpi won’t be direct opponents on Saturday, the pair have regularly found ways to get stuck into a tasty head-to-head battle and we predict no different in Perth. Mapimpi is not the regular starter for the Boks that he was back in 2019 but is always a consistent performer and is shooting up South Africa’s all-time leading try scorers list with each passing Test. Give him half a chance and you will be standing under the sticks waiting for the conversion.
This Springboks team is littered with exciting prospects like Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Louw and Wessels but many Bok fans will have their eyes glued on the performance of Lukhanyo Am at inside centre. Am starred at outside centre when he assisted Mapimpi for the first South African try in a Rugby World Cup final with a deft no-look pass in 2019 but injuries have hampered his involvement since then. Now, he will be looking to fire a channel inside and equipped with the freedom that Tony Brown’s attacking system affords him.
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At the start of the year, Erasmus highlighted the need for the Boks to blood new talent in the hooker position and we will seeing just that on Saturday when Johan Grobbelaar earns just his second Test cap. The brilliant Bulls front-rower is almost a carbon copy of Malcolm Marx with his ability around the park and is usually incredibly accurate at the set-pieces. The Springboks are renowned for producing world-class hookers from James Dalton to Uli Schmidt to John Smit, Bismarck du Plessis and the endless talents in between and Grobbelaar is just the latest rising star aiming to add his name to that illustrious list.
Main head-to-head
After what unfolded in Brisbane, it’s clear that the scrums will be crucial in Perth as Angus Bell and Thomas du Toit lock horns.
It cannot be understated just how much of a boost Bell’s return is to the Wallabies as the prop is simply world-class. He is the epitome of the modern-day front-rower as he is not only a force to be reckoned with in the scrums but almost a fourth back-rower around the park. Bell is coming into the Test right off the back of an injury setback but don’t be surprised if he goes deep into the second half.
But he will have his hands full as he squares off against 2019 World Cup winner Du Toit, who has been the victim of the Springboks’ incredible prop depth this year as he earns just his second cap. The enormous front-rower enjoyed a glorious first season with Bath in the Premiership and reproduced that form against Portugal in his sole cap in 2024.
The scrums might not be everyone’s favourite cup of tea, but for the fanatics, get the popcorn out!
Prediction
The Springboks have an average winning margin of 24.3 points in their last three clashes with the Wallabies and that includes a largely second-string side hammering an Eddie Jones-led team in Pretoria last year.
It’s hard to see the Wallabies being as poor as they were last week and there is bound to be a dip from the Boks considering all their changes which makes that 20+ margin seem rather unlikely.
Still, the Springboks will be huge favourites and with a stacked bench and solid starting XV, it’s hard to look past back-to-back wins for Erasmus’ charges. If they get the dominance up front and are as innovative as they were in the Brisbane bloodbath, then it will be a Perth pelting and one by at least 15 points.
Previous results
2024: South Africa won 33-7 in Brisbane
2023: South Africa won 43-12 in Pretoria
2022: South Africa won 24-8 in Sydney
2022: Australia won 25-17 in Adelaide
2021: Australia won 30-17 in Brisbane
2021: Australia won 28-26 on the Gold Coast
2019: South Africa won 35-17 in Johannesburg
2018: South Africa won 23-12 in Gqeberha
2018: Australia won 23-18 in Brisbane
2017: The teams drew 27-27 in Bloemfontein
The teams
Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Angus Blyth, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (c), 2 Josh Nasser, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 James Slipper, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Tom Hooper, 20 Seru Uru, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen
Springboks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Handré Pollard
Date: Saturday, August 17
Venue: Optus Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 17:55 local (10:55 BST, 09:55 GMT)
Referee: Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (RFU), Hollie Davidson (SRU)
TMO: Richard Kelly (NZR)