'My mind went straight there – I thought, what are they going to come with? A 6–2 bench, back to basics, the bomb squad, an aerial contest?'
Wallabies players say they didn’t savour their historic win at Ellis Park for long, already thinking of what the Springboks will do to bounce back in Cape Town, and how they can respond to this.
The Wallabies won at the Johannesburg venue for the first time since 1963, overturning a 22–0 deficit within 20 minutes and scoring six unanswered tries to win their Rugby Championship opener 38–22 on the weekend. It was their second win at Ellis Park out of 13 games.
Australia’s coach Joe Schmidt praised his team’s performance, but said they were a “little lucky” to secure the bonus-point win thanks to a couple of loose balls, poor passes, last-ditch tackles and a “lapse in effort and concentration” on the part of the Springboks after their strong start.
Flyhalf James O’Connor and lock Will Skelton told media the Wallabies had celebrated heartily after the “special” win, but before the night was over they had already rewatched and reviewed the game with their minds on the second Test in Cape Town this Saturday.
“My mind went straight there – I thought, what are they going to come with? A 6–2 bench, back to basics, the bomb squad, an aerial contest? They are going to meet us in the trenches. I’m already thinking of what’s coming and focusing on recovery,” said O’Connor, who entered the starting XV having not played a Test match since 2022.
Wallabies ‘know what is coming’
Skelton said he was proud of how the group fought back. “To put in a performance like that is a great feeling. But as Rabs [O’Connor] said, a lot of the boys are already on to next week. Boys are reviewing. Everyone’s clipping stuff.
“We know what is going to come. They are going to try punch you in the face this week. We are going to have to have a good week of preparation again, and really fight.”
Both players said they watched the game recording right after their celebrations, before going to bed on Saturday. O’Connor said he will review it again before the coaches even meet up with players.
“The Boks left some points out there and they are going to be coming next week. The big Test is going to be Cape Town for us, how well we double down. Because it is going to be a battle, that is for sure,” the flyhalf said.
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