Springboks legend makes surprising Wallabies statement but questions whether Joe Schmidt can deliver

Springboks great Jean de Villiers would like to see an Australian resurgence, but very much hopes it comes after the first two rounds of the Rugby Championship.

South Africa begin their tournament with a couple of matches against the Wallabies, who they face in Brisbane and Perth on August 10 and 17 respectively.

De Villiers has previously stated that Australia have no chance in that encounter if the Boks perform near the top of their game and it is hard to argue.

The Aussies endured a dreadful 2023 under Eddie Jones and, while new head coach Joe Schmidt has had a positive start, there is still much for him to work on.

Struggles since 2015

Jones’ disaster followed a tough few years following the 2015 Rugby World Cup final for the Wallabies, who have dropped away from the top teams.

As a result, De Villiers interestingly hopes that they can find the players to compete at the highest level once again.

“I really want Australian rugby to be strong,” the former Boks captain said on the Boks Office podcast. “We’re not going to shy away from the fact that they, rugby union in Australia, are under massive pressure to succeed because of the other sporting codes.

“The reality is that the results over the last two years or so have been poor. We as South Africa have everything to lose going there because we are expected to win.

“Looking at the bigger picture of where Australia is at and the World Cup being in Australia in 2027, we want Australia to get better, but we want that to happen only after we play them!

Schalk Burger echoed his former international team-mate, saying: “I don’t think I’ve ever said this or wished it but I want Australia to be stronger.”

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Schmidt and Rugby Australia

Some believe that the highly respected Schmidt is the person to take the Wallabies back to the top of the world game, but De Villiers is not so sure.

Australian rugby has not just endured a difficult time on the field but also off it. Earlier this year, the Melbourne Rebels went into administration and were subsequently axed from Super Rugby Pacific at the end of the campaign.

The Rebels’ situation is a microcosm of the sport’s financial problems in Australia and the ex-Springboks back insists that Schmidt has his work cut out.

“Joe Schmidt is the man to improve Australian rugby but will he get them back on track to where they were in those golden years? I don’t think so because it’s not him, it’s the structure, it’s the whole organisation that I feel is not functioning,” De Villiers said.

“You throw away the Force and you get the Rebels back in, and then you bring the Force back and now the Rebels have gone.”

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