Wallabies players have identified where their greatest threats will come from against the Springboks, saying they hope to match these.
The Wallabies have said they respect the quality and depth of the Springbok player base, especially among the forwards, and are working on replicating that in their own setup.
Loose forward Tom Hooper and prop Zane Nonggorr also spoke particularly highly of the Bok set-piece, saying they will need to match that during their first Rugby Championship Test Park on Saturday.
The pair spoke to the media ahead of the match at Ellis Park, where the Wallabies have not won since 1963.
Wallabies prepare for match-ups
While neither player was aware of this historical record, they said they were not ignorant of the challenge they faced in taking on the World Champions (as well as Rugby Championship title defenders) at home.
“They have very good set-piece focus across the board,” Nonggorr said. “You never know if you’re starting or not so you prepare to play 80 minutes every week and you train as best as you can. We are going to focus on us but also focus on our set-piece a lot and try improve that.”
He reflected on Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt’s decision to announce his team on Thursday, which is relatively normal in comparison with Rassie Erasmus’ decision to announce his team early, on Monday. He and loose forward Tom Hooper said this had given them a chance to make more accurate conjectures about their match-ups.
Hooper relished the chance of facing off against twice World Rugby Player of the Year, Pieter-Steph du Toit. He added that, Du Toit’s selection, along with Marco van Staden as the other flank, Siya Kolisi at eight, and Malcolm Marx at hooker, meant he had a tough battle at the breakdown.
“But we had a similar predicament against the Lions where you had someone like Tadhg Beirne who is really good over the ball, and Tom Curry,” Hooper said.
“So we know we will have our wits about us when it comes to breakdown time, and making sure we get our targeting right there. Because they will be looking for turnovers.”
Wallabies increase their player depth
Nonggorr added that he respected the Boks’ ability to field such depth outside their starting XV.
“That is something that we are hopefully building as a squad and in the Wallabies. It shows that boys can come into the squad and not miss a beat, fit in perfectly. I think we are building that well.”
To that end, Hooper said while he was still on the fringe of selection over the previous two seasons, he felt like he was supported in a culture that promoted healthy competition.
“You come into an environment like this where everyone is hungry to get those wins, and are process driven getting better and better every day,” Hooper said.
