Wallabies target Bok scrum

The Wallabies open their Rugby Championship campaign against the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld in the first game of Eddie Jones’ second tenure as head coach.

Duane Vermeulen will captain a Bok side with a World Cup-winning front row of Steven Kitshoff, Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe, and a six-two split on the bench that includes the towering RG Snyman, one of the original Bomb Squad members.

The Aussies have lost their last seven Tests in South Africa and have never beaten the Boks on the Highveld, and speaking to media this week, forwards coach Neal Hatley told reporters: “There’s not many places harder in world rugby to come than the Springboks at Loftus, so it will give us a good benchmark of where we are.

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“You have to be aggressive; you have to be competitive at scrum, and at the lineout and in the drive. If you come over here and you roll over, you’ll get murdered so we’ve got to make sure that we are aggressive in all those aspects.”

Hatley added: “The Springboks have some ‘real problems’, haven’t they – no Malcolm Marx, but they have Mbongeni Mbonambi!

“Look, they’ve got incredible depth – we know from a tight five point of view, their Bomb Squad and we respect the South African pack immensely.

“That’s why for us it’s an exciting challenge to start with – to play this team, this pack of forwards, at this ground.

“For some of the guys making their debut, to experience Test rugby at altitude in Pretoria against the Springboks is a hell of a way to start.”

Hatley, though, hopes the monstrous Will Skelton will match the physicality of SA for the Wallabies, in a rare start for the 24-Test lock.

“He has been immense in all aspects; his physicality, his size, so it’s brilliant to have him,” the former prop said.

“It’s been great to have him, he’s trimmed down a bit … and he’s come in and had a huge impact on the group because he’s been winning over the last two or so years.”