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The Australians will come to South Africa fresh off a tough series against the British and Irish Lions.
Coach Rassie Erasmus and his charges will next be up against the Australian Wallabies in the Rugby Championship. Picture: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images
The Springboks are back in training after a week’s break following their last Test, against Georgia in Gqeberha, and if they didn’t know it already, they know now they’re in for one big challenge if they’re going to defend the Rugby Championship title they won last year.
The competition kicks off in just over two weeks’ time, with the Boks first up in South Africa against Australia. They’ll face each other in two matches on home soil before the Boks turn their attention to the All Blacks and later on, Argentina.
But while the reigning world champions will back themselves to win against the Wallabies in Joburg and Cape Town on 16 and 23 August respectively, coach Rassie Erasmus is sure to point out just what a challenge Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies will be.
The Australians may have lost their ongoing series against the British and Irish Lions, with one game to go, but Schmidt’s men have shown enough in their 27-19 and 29-26 defeats in Brisbane and Melbourne respectively to be confident of pushing Erasmus’ men all the way on tour.
‘Completely different kettle of fish’
The Wallabies showed a combative side not seen in years in the second Test last Saturday, while there was also a confidence in their play to give them enough belief they’ll be challengers for the 2025 Rugby Championship title.
They were one controversial refereeing decision away from winning the Melbourne Test, against a far more experienced side in the Lions, and levelling the series, ahead of this weekend’s match in Sydney.
Erasmus knows his players are in for a far bigger challenge than anything they faced against the Barbarians, Italy and Georgia, who were not the ideal sides to play against in warming up for the Rugby Championship.
“Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina are all ranked in the top seven in the world, and if one considers that we won the Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019 last year, it is clear that this will be a completely different kettle of fish,” Erasmus said recently.
“All three teams have beaten us in the last few years and they play a different style of rugby to the other opposition we have faced thus far. But, we are pleased with the foundation we laid in the last few weeks and we know exactly what areas of our game we need to work on going into the Castle Lager Rugby Championship.”
Erasmus and Co will certainly be working hard in the next two weeks to get the Boks up to speed for what lies ahead – a not to be sniffed at Wallabies team which looks pretty powerful up front with the likes of Will Skelton and Rob Valetini in the mix. And, there’s also plenty of attacking power at the back to ensure the Boks will be fully focused on Schmidt’s side in the coming days.
Rugby Championship fixtures
16 August: South Africa v Australia, Argentina v New Zealand
23 August: South Africa v Australia, Argentina v New Zealand
6 September: Australia v Argentina, New Zealand v South Africa
13 September: Australia v Argentina, New Zealand v South Africa
27 September: New Zealand v Australia, South Africa v Argentina
4 October: Australia v New Zealand, Argentina v South Africa
