‘You don’t suddenly solve the Springboks conundrum’ – Joe Schmidt after Wallabies’ loss

Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt was left frustrated after his team suffered a humiliating 33-7 defeat to the Springboks in their Rugby Championship opener in Brisbane on Saturday.

The visitors showed why they are the world champions as they delivered a dominant overall performance and held the upper hand in most facets of play, which saw them outscoring their hosts by five tries to one.

The Boks‘ superior physicality paved the way to victory and they held a comfortable 21-0 lead at half-time and Schmidt admitted that his team still had some way to go to before reaching their opponents’ level.

Boks standards are very high

“That’s probably a benchmark for us. We’ve had three Tests prior to that but that’s really a starting point up against the really big boys,” he said post-match.

“They’re at a different stage of their evolution with so much experience and players who’ve played at the very top level for a long time and successfully.

“We have quite a youthful side and a side that is still coming together but we’ve got to come together better than we did today and accelerate some of the learning.

“There’s obvious learning from today but you don’t suddenly solve the South African conundrum.”

Wallabies skipper Allan Alaalatoa admitted that the defeat was a steep learning curve for several of his side’s players.

“It’s going to be a tough pill to swallow but a lot of our boys will learn from that,” he said.

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“We’ve got a lot of our boys with a handful of caps learning what the Test arena is like and there’s no better way to learn than against South Africa.

“We’ve got to learn and then make sure that we’re better for Perth.”

Meanwhile, Filipo Daugunu, Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams sustained knocks but Schmidt hinted that he would keep changes to a minimum for the rematch at Optus Stadium in Perth next week.

Taniela Tupou set to return

However, they should be boosted by Taniela Tupou’s return after he missed the Brisbane clash following the death of his father earlier in the week.

“I think there’s guys who will improve what they’re delivering and maybe not in time for next Saturday but we do have to have a bit of a long-term plan,” Schmidt said.

“We’ve got a much younger sit and a lot less caps and therefore my belief is if we chop and change too much then it’s very hard to grow the cohesion.

“When you go out in a game like that, you’re very interdependent and you’re going to have to make sure that everyone know their role has been built ready to deliver.

“I thought Carlo Tizzano did really well today but would’ve been nice to have Fraser McReight as well and then you have Luke Reimer coming off the bench so there’s guys that will get better with opportunity.

“I’m a realist and I know that you don’t suddenly match up and front up but you’ve got to better yourself for next week.”

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