THE Springboks under Siya Kolisi and Rassie Erasmus have scaled the highest peaks in world rugby, but the one challenge they cannot get their heads around is consistent success in Australia.
The Boks are about to depart for Australia for Rugby Championship matches in Brisbane (August 10) and Perth (August 17), and the pre-tour talk will undoubtedly be about addressing South Africa’s appalling away record against the Wallabies.
Kolisi had a great start in Australia when Jean de Villiers’ Boks smashed the Wallabies 38-12 in Brisbane, but that was an anomaly, and it has been mostly defeat Down Under ever since.
The Boks’ last eight matches in Australia have produced six losses, a win and a draw.
The Boks were last in Australia in 2022, and they were poor in their first match, in Adelaide. They were heavily criticised for a limp performance, and the following week they responded with an emphatic win in Sydney.
The Boks’ approach to those two games perfectly illustrated what usually goes wrong for them on Aussie soil, and it has been highlighted by a procession of Springbok captains and coaches – for some reason, the Boks don’t “get up” for the Wallabies away as they do for the All Blacks.
There is a mental switch that gets flicked when the Boks land in New Zealand, but stays down when they arrive in Australia.
In Adelaide in 2022, the Boks did not mentally pitch up for the game, but after having had a fire lit under their backsides by their disappointed coaching staff, they switched on and destroyed the Wallabies in the next encounter.
It never happens when the Boks travel to face the All Blacks.
South Africa’s failure to beat the Wallabies away is nothing new and hardly restricted to the Erasmus era.
In 21 games in Australia since the World Cup there in 2003, the Boks have won just four times, drawn once and lost on 16 occasions.
If you consider that the Boks have won three World Cups over that period, their poor record in Australia doesn’t make sense, and it can only be put down to mental indifference.
Rassie on 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘴
Rugby has always been part of his life 🏉
Episode 5: Rassie Erasmus on falling in love with rugby ▶️#ForeverGreenForeverGold #Springboks pic.twitter.com/l6wZ0ic3y6
Interestingly, the Wallabies are just as poor in South Africa.
It is almost as if the two teams settle for winning their home games and losing away.
But for the back-to-back world champion Boks, this is not good enough, and Kolisi’s men have to step up on this two-match tour.
It is great that the Boks this season have shown a commitment to evolving their game-plan, but they also have to take a step up mentally and improve their record away from home against teams they should outclass.
The squad Erasmus has chosen for the tour to Australia suggests that he means business. It is packed with World Cup winners and light on rookies.
“As always, there are a number of unlucky players, but we could only select a squad of 33 to travel to Australia,” Erasmus said.
“The players excluded from the squad will be available for selection for their respective clubs, but we explained to them before we departed Bloemfontein that this squad is not necessarily the same group that will be selected for the matches against New Zealand and Argentina.
Where do we even begin.🤌
The energy was off the charts.🙌
Thank you Bloem.🫶#ForeverGreenForeverGold #Springboks pic.twitter.com/8z9d6EyCJg
“So, they have been put on specialised conditioning programmes to ensure they are ready should they get the call-up.”
After a touch of experimentation in the games against Wales, Ireland and Portugal, the Bok coach is taking no chances in the Rugby Championship and said: “We faced New Zealand in the World Cup final and won by a point. We all know how tough the competition and rivalry is between the teams.
“Australia are also a quality team, and we’ve seen historically that they are a force to be reckoned with at home, while Argentina are a physical and competitive team and always push us to the limit, so we are under no illusions about what lies ahead.
“But we’re also excited to launch this new edition of the tournament and test ourselves against the southern hemisphere sides once again.”