The national team used the one-off match as a test ahead of their return to Australia for next year's showpiece tournament.
Jasper Wiese during a Springbok training session. Picture: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
Powerhouse Springbok eighthman Jasper Wiese chose to see the silver linings in the disappointing loss to the Wallabies in Perth on Sunday, as he looked ahead to the 2027 Rugby World Cup which will be played Down Under.
After the highs of beating the All Blacks 3-1 in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR) series, the Boks were firmly brought back down to earth by a fired-up Wallabies side that probably should’ve won by more than the 42-38 scoreline, after they almost imploded over the final 10 minutes.
After the RGR finale in Baltimore just over two weeks ago, the Boks flew straight to Australia, where they stayed in Terrigal in New South Wales for a week as a trial run for their training base at next year’s showpiece event.
That experience, plus competing in Perth where they will play a number of their World Cup games, will likely prove invaluable for the SA side with just over a year to go before the start of the tournament, and though he admitted the loss hurt, Wiese felt they would be better for it.
“This will be sore, well, it’s definitely sore for me to lose here. But I just think the fight’s going to be bigger. Everybody in this room just wants to give their best to South Africa, and for this jersey, so I’m convinced that we’ll come back stronger,” Wiese said after the clash at the weekend.
“We got to know the environment that we’re going to be in when we’re here for the World Cup. And obviously, the travel arrangements and stuff when we’re playing a few games in Perth, that’s valuable lessons that we can definitely take into next year.”
‘Sometimes a loss is maybe necessary’
The Boks named a much-changed team from the one that faced the All Blacks in the final RGR game, with just two players from the starting 15 surviving, but they stacked their bench with seven players who had featured in that game in an effort to even things out.
But their fringe players, who received a valuable chance to impress, failed to fire, and although the ‘bomb squad’ eventually turned up the heat after initially failing to do so, it was too little too late, and Wiese said they would learn from the experience.
“We learned some good lessons. You always want to win while learning, but sometimes a loss is maybe necessary, although it is never a good thing,” explained Wiese.
“Being 25 points down and losing the game by four points in a matter of 10 minutes, I think it shows what this group is about. Obviously, we were chasing the game a bit at the end there, but I think one or two more minutes (we could have stolen it).
“Saying ‘but if’ is always a dangerous thing, but I am just proud of the boys, proud of the fight they showed and this is such a special group. I think the last 15 minutes showed it.”
Although it ended as a loss, Wiese celebrated a milestone match, as he made his 50th appearance for the Springboks when he came off the bench in the second half.
“If you represent your country once, it’s a massive privilege, but to be able to do it 50 times (is special). This is an unbelievable group and I am privileged to have done it with them.”
