The Bok coach though said he would do his best to mix and match to put out a 'fresh-ish' team for the match in Perth.
How much energy is left in the Bok team? Picture: Gallo Images
Though Rassie Erasmus concedes some of his players are tired after a demanding four-Test series against the All Blacks he hopes they have some petrol left in the tank to produce another big 80-minute effort against the Wallabies in Perth this coming Sunday.
The Boks arrived in Sydney last week after beating the All Blacks in the fourth Test of their Greatest Rivalry series in Baltimore, USA, after also winning in Soweto and Cape Town. The Boks lost the first Test at Ellis Park.
Erasmus’ team opted to stay in Terrigal, north of Sydney, last week and for most of this week, before transferring to Perth later on. Sunday’s match starts at 11.45am.
The Bok boss said he was taking the Wallabies Test very seriously, especially after they shocked the Boks 38-22 at Ellis Park last season, after the home team had been 22-0 up. Also, the Boks have struggled to get past the Wallabies, generally, in the past.
“Anybody who plays four games against New Zealand will be a little bit punch-drunk at the end,” Erasmus told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“We’ll mix and match a little to make sure we’ve got a fresh-ish team, but obviously we’ll have to have enough experience also. I don’t think we’ll gamble too much against Australia.”
Erasmus has already sent Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende home to spend time with their families.
Other players in the squad who played a lot during the All Blacks series include Jesse Kriel, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Jasper Wiese, Eben Etzebeth, Ruan Nortje and Malcolm Marx.
Erasmus pointed to last year’s shock defeat by the Wallabies at Ellis Park as proof they are not, ever, to be taken lightly.
“And it was at altitude, and they only flew in that week,” Erasmus said. “There was a little bit of arrogance from our side, being 22 up.
“They smashed us, and the next game in Cape Town we only beat them with seven points or something like that.”
He added: “We find them tremendously difficult to play against, I don’t know why.
“I just find them intriguing, the Australians. You get a guy like [Joseph-Aukuso] Suaalii, who’s 22 and he just comes in and he’s a full-on player. You just find these players.”
“You just can’t say Australia play a certain way. That’s what’s tough for me, too, to analyse about them. We have immense respect for the Wallabies. You look at the track record, we struggle.”
