Wallabies great claims Joe Schmidt’s side ‘should’ beat the Springboks after ‘tougher’ Lions series
Wallabies taking on the Springboks in the Rugby Championship, and Australia head coach Joe Schmidt.
Wallabies great Jeremy Paul insists that Joe Schmidt’s men “should” be beating the Springboks in their opening game of the Rugby Championship.
Australia head into the annual southern hemisphere competition in high spirits after overcoming the British and Irish Lions in the third Test in Sydney last Saturday.
Although the Wallabies fell to a 2-1 defeat having lost the opening two matches, they were the better team for the majority of the second and third encounters.
Following their improvement over the course of the Lions series, Paul was asked on the GBRANZ podcast about what his ‘expectations’ are for Schmidt’s side in South Africa.
Wallabies battle-hardened
“1-1,” was his response, before adding: “I think we should win the first game. Next week, being hardened, you could not have better preparation.”
After the Wallabies have faced the Springboks, they take on Argentina twice in Australia before back-to-back matches against the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup.
Once again, Paul boldly predicted another big win, this time over New Zealand, as he hopes to see Schmidt’s side end the Rugby Championship with four victories in six.
“I think we can win in Perth [against the All Blacks] but Eden Park, you can’t even talk about going there and winning – has anyone won there in 100 years?” he said.
“We’ve got Argentina here so I would like to think 2-0. For us to win one away in South Africa, for us to win the Perth game and to obviously be super competitive in the other two would be an incredibly successful year for us.”
It is a big call from the former Wallaby, who earned 72 caps for his country, but Paul saw huge positives in how they played against the Lions in the third Test.
“Off the back of this momentum, off the back of this type of game we played in Sydney – the line speed, dominant tackles – it’s a new level, and they have to replicate this,” he said.
“You’ve done it once, now do it again.
“The Boks haven’t had the preparation going into this game, we have. We should be hard and fit, we should be incredibly confident coming off that win – we should win the first game. The second game is up for grabs.”
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Are Springboks or Lions tougher?
The Springboks are currently the number one ranked side in the game. They have sealed back-to-back Rugby World Cups and followed up that success in 2023 with an impressive 2024, winning 11 or their 13 matches.
Paul was asked whether facing the Boks in South Africa would give a truer test of their capabilities, but he ultimately edged towards the Lions challenge.
“If they were coming to Australia, no, but going to South Africa for a two-game series – we saw the All Blacks losing both games last year – that’s really where you can gauge yourself,” he added.
“[But] you have to say the Lions because it’s every 12 years. I’m not going to disrespect the Lions like that and say: ‘Going to South Africa is tougher’.
“The Lions were world-class, what a group of players that came down to Australia – quite incredible the names – and how they played.
“I’ve got to say Lions but this is huge; going to South Africa and trying to win a game.”
