Altitude factor: Wallabies don't want to 'blow a gasket' against Springboks at Ellis Park

Johannesburg is 1,753m above sea level, yet many teams visiting Ellis Park will tell you that the altitude factor is in the head. The Wallabies are not one of them.

On Thursday, Wallabies Tom Wright and Angus Bell acknowledged that the lung-burning thin air of the Highveld can’t be ignored in how their team approaches the game against the Springboks on Saturday.

Fiery prop Bell, who is playing off the bench in a strategy to defuse the Boks’ ploy of fielding a second front row, said with a smile: “I will struggle a bit more than Wrighty,” having a crack at his hefty physique compared to that of the lithe fullback.

“But I reckon it is a challenge for both teams … We know the more expansively we play, the better we have to defend (potential counter-attacks).

"We know how dangerous the Boks are, and we know how dangerous we are, but we just have to stick to our guns and our game plan, getting that cutting-edge precision in our attack and defence.”

Wright said combating altitude is about game management.

“We have been talking about how we need to manage ourselves because we will blow a gasket if we go too fast. It is a case of who can play the footy that blends best with the thin air,” said Wright, the former rugby league flyhalf for the Manly Super Eagles.

Wright was asked for his opinion on the Springbok back three, and spoke with glee about the home side's attacking options at the back.

“Absolutely, that back three is dangerous. The strong point of all three of those guys is their running game. Kurt-Lee (Arendse) is the one we know best. (Edwill) Van der Merwe, I have watched for a little while at club level (for the Lions) and he is impressive. Last year, (Aphelele) Fassi and I played against each other in Perth in monsoon conditions, so a dry deck will bring the best out of both of us.”

Wright was asked if he expected a high-scoring game with plenty of tries. “Hopefully, more tries for us and not as many for them,” he smiled

“But yes, for us, we have not seen a dry pitch for a while (it rained often during the Lions series), so we are looking forward to having more ball in hand, but we know the threat they pose with how they shift the point of attack with a couple of passes. We have seen that in their game for a few months now. That has been effective for them.”

Bell said that the Wallabies pack knows what to expect from their opponents. “We know how world-class the Springboks are, especially in the scrum and maul area. We have trained hard this week to contain that.

"We know how much quality they possess in the front row; they are powerful athletes, and we respect them greatly.The other way of looking at it is that we are excited to pit ourselves against the best.”

Bell said he had done his homework on “the big fellow from the Lions whose name I can’t pronounce.” Fair play — Asenathi Ntlabakanye would be a mouthful for any foreigner.

“He has his unique attributes. I see he has been working with the Boks for a while and he will be the better for that. Every player the Boks pick is a different challenge.”