Springboks coach explains how Joe Schmidt has got the Wallabies ‘firing again’ and reveals the ‘massive area’ which must be neutralised
Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt during a training session and Springboks defence coach Jerry Flannery (inset).
Springboks defence coach Jerry Flannery believes the breakdown battle will be crucial when the world champions host the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship opener in Johannesburg on Saturday.
South Africa head into the eagerly anticipated showdown at Ellis Park as the favourites after winning the last four matches between these countries, with Australia’s last victory in this fixture registered in Adelaide in 2022.
The Wallabies come into this year’s Rugby Championship after suffering a 2-1 series defeat against the British and Irish Lions on home soil.
After a slow start to the series in which the Lions delivered a fine performance in the first Test in Brisbane, Australia improved considerably in the second Test in Melbourne but suffered a narrow defeat, before clinching a victory in the third Test in Melbourne.
Although the Springboks were dominant in last year’s corresponding Rugby Championship fixtures against the Wallabies in Brisbane and Perth, Flannery is wary of Australia who they will also meet in Cape Town on August 23.
Flannery, who was Munster’s assistant coach when current Wallabies boss Joe Schmidt was Ireland’s head coach, expects a much tougher assignment from their opponents this year.
‘We were aware of his kind of philosophy’
“Well, we played them last year when Joe Schmidt came in, and we were aware of, from when he worked in Ireland and the work he’d done with New Zealand, we were aware of his kind of philosophy and the way he plays,” he told reporters in Johannesburg.
“You could see a lot of that, but you could just see it developing from last year into this year, and I think that they play some very direct rugby with an awful lot of detail, and the breakdown is a massive area of their game.”
Australia hit rock bottom at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France when they failed to advance to the global showpiece’s play-offs but have shown steady improvement under Schmidt, who will step down from his position after the November internationals with Les Kiss taking over the Wallabies’ coaching reins next year.
“I think if you look at it from a timeline, when they were at the last World Cup, they looked a little bit rudderless, and when Joe came in, he’s a brilliant coach,” said Flannery.
‘I think he’s come in and he’s got Australia firing again’
“His level of detail that he brings is phenomenal, and I saw the impact that he had in Ireland by making players play much, much higher than their perceived capacity, and I think he’s come in and he’s got Australia firing again.”
Flannery said he was not surprised that the Wallabies improved considerably against the Lions after their poor start to the series and he expects a tough challenge from them in the Rugby Championship.
“I wasn’t surprised because I knew they were better than they showed in the first Test, and I think they were a lot more confrontational,” he explained.
“They’re obviously massively disappointed to lose the second Test, but they were right in the mix, and I think that the narrative that’s out there now is that Australian rugby is on the up, and they’ll be looking to target us and try and keep building that.”
Flannery was asked whether the key to countering the Wallabies’ threat at the breakdowns was to prevent them from receiving good front foot ball and said: “You could definitely say that because I think for most teams in attack, getting quick ball is going to be the big thing for them.
“I think when you look at how meticulously Joe Schmidt plans his plays, and whilst they didn’t show a huge amount in one to three phases, you could see that the players were really aligned to a plan that might stretch five, six phases, which to retain the ball and be in the right place, you have to be really, really detailed with your breakdown.
“We look at that. There are two players in instantly all the time.”
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