Fielding a team of senior regulars and fringe players, South Africa put the Wallabies to the sword in the 2023 Rugby Championship opener, with a 43-12 win at Loftus Versfeld.

In his TimesLIVE column, Keohane suggests that the Boks showed a refreshing style of play, while the performances of Willie le Roux and Manie Libbok were ‘sensational’.

Keohane writes that the hosts dominated the Aussies even with several key players already in New Zealand preparing to face the All Blacks next weekend.

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“Forget the stereotype of the Boks being big, strong and bloody stupid: The Water Buffalos of rugby,” he writes.

“These Boks were balanced in everything they did and the only question one could ask after the first 40 minutes is how did Australia have five points?

“Obviously, the Boks wanted to win at home, but in the context of the game, the Bok coaching duo of Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber were looking for a particular performance from a select group of players.

“They were focused on the Libbok/Le Roux 10/15 axis, and from an attacking point of view it produced magic.

“[Eddie] Jones, pre-match, spoke about how good the Wallabies would be, but no Australian team has ever gone to Loftus Versfeld and won – and on Saturday they were never going to win. They were not good enough, and the Boks were too good.

“This was proper from the Springboks. This was new-age.”