Boks head to Australia – ready to own their destiny and not make excuses

Damian de Allende of South Africa tries to break the tackle of Reece Hodge of Australia during the Rugby Championship Test at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Australia, on 3 September 2022. (Photo: EPA-EFE /Dan Himbrechts)

By Craig Ray

31 Jul 2024

The Springboks left for Australia on Wednesday on a mission to end their string of inconsistent performances Down Under against a rebuilding Wallabies unit.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus had his sporting Damascus moment as a member of the management at Rugby World Cup 2023. He admitted that referees needed more respect after years of himself being critical of them in public, and that mindset filtered back to the squad.

boks australia erasmus Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus. (Photo: Charle Lombard / Gallo Images)

In a broader sense, the coach was saying that the Boks could no longer be a team that makes excuses. They have to own their fortunes – good and bad.

It’s with that “no excuses” approach that Boks will tackle the Wallabies in Australia over the next two weeks, because it’s the one territory where the world champions have struggled in recent years.

They play Tests in Brisbane and Perth on 10 and 17 August and need two wins to set them on the path to winning the Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019.

The Wallabies have hardly been a force in world rugby for the past five years, but the Boks have made a habit of losing games in Australia. It’s a frustrating trend that they’re desperate to end.

Since Erasmus linked up with the Boks in 2018, as coach and then director of rugby, the team has lost four of five matches in Australia. The only win was a 24-8 victory in Sydney in 2022.

It is their only win Down Under against the Wallabies in the past 11 years. In all, since the Boks were readmitted to Test rugby in 1992, they have won only six times in Australia in 32 years.

Under new coach Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies have shown some signs of stirring after a Test series victory over a weak Wales in July.

There was more structure to their play and the set piece looks to have been shored up. On paper, the Boks look like a much better unit, but that has been the case for much of the past six years too, and often South Africa have stumbled.

“We’re well aware of the fact that every year, there’s an excuse,” Erasmus said.

boks australia de allende Damian de Allende of South Africa tries to break the tackle of Reece Hodge of Australia during the Rugby Championship Test at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, Australia, on 3 September 2022. (Photo: EPA-EFE /Dan Himbrechts)

“We’re a team that shouldn’t have excuses, but the difference is that when we were in Super Rugby, we used to play them [Australian teams] almost every week.

“It almost feels like the Rugby Championship and end-of-year tour are swapped around now because the Australian players are new to us.

“Joe Schmidt isn’t new to us, but by leaving on Wednesday, we’ll train on the weekend in an attempt to get into a normal Test week as soon as possible.

“Joe’s a coach who brings the best out of the players. It’s going to be a big test for us, but I think we’ve done our homework. The games will be tightly contested.”

Mixed squad

The 33-man squad for the tour contains several inexperienced Test players who made their debuts against Ireland and Portugal in July.

But it’s also stacked with seasoned World Cup winners as Erasmus juggles the need to refresh the team with a view to Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia, and win Tests in the short term.

“We had a few good field and gym sessions on Monday and Tuesday and some of the players come off a well-deserved rest,” Erasmus said.

“The younger players are beaming with excitement about this tour, so we are travelling to Australia with good groundwork already in place, and hopefully that pays off.

“We’ll arrive in Australia on Thursday and have training sessions on Friday and Saturday, so we’ll get straight into the swing of things as soon as possible to acclimatise to the conditions and environment and hit the ground running in the hope of getting the tour off to a good start.

“We are playing against an Australian team that has historically performed well at home, so we want to correct the mistakes we made in the last few games, and just as they would like to, we want to win both matches in Australia,” said Erasmus.

“When Joe was the coach of Ireland I worked closely with him during my time at Munster, and he is a man with a great work ethic and who knows how to bring the best out of his players, so we know the magnitude of the challenge that lies ahead.”

Erasmus admitted that while there was pressure on the team to turn things around in Australia, they relished the challenge.

“There was pressure on us in 2019, during the British & Irish Lions tour in 2021, and in the Rugby World Cup last year,” said Erasmus. “And we know that people expect us to win… but as always, we’ll give our best on the field and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”

Bok squad for Australia tour

Forwards

Ben-Jason Dixon (Stormers), Pieter-Steph du Toit (Verblitz), Thomas du Toit (Bath), Eben Etzebeth (Sharks), Johan Grobbelaar (Bulls), Vincent Koch (Sharks), Siya Kolisi (captain, Racing 92), Elrigh Louw (Bulls), Frans Malherbe (Stormers), Malcolm Marx (Spears), Bongi Mbonambi (Sharks), Salmaan Moerat (Stormers), Ox Nche (Sharks), Ruan Nortje (Bulls), Kwagga Smith (Shizuoka Blue Revs), RG Snyman (Leinster), Gerhard Steenekamp (Bulls), Marco van Staden (Bulls), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Bulls).

Backs

Lukhanyo Am (Sharks), Kurt-Lee Arendse (Bulls), Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), Aphelele Fassi (Sharks), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (Stormers), Cheslin Kolbe (Suntory Sungoliath), Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), Willie le Roux (Bulls), Makazole Mapimpi (Sharks), Manie Libbok (Stormers), Handre Pollard (Leicester Tigers), Cobus Reinach (Montpellier), Morne van den Berg (Lions), Grant Williams (Sharks). DM

Categories:

Tags:

DM is much better if you are signed in...

South Africa

Mixed squad

Bok squad for Australia tour

Forwards

Backs