Springboks ready to grind out victory against Wallabies in Cape Town

The Springboks are ready to win ugly, if necessary, in their second Rugby Championship Test against Australia on Saturday in Cape Town.

While they’ve steadily progressed on attack under assistant coach Tony Brown, the Boks’ strength has always been their ability to use their forwards in a power game to subdue opponents. From there, space opens up for their backs to work their magic and score tries.

More recently, and much to the delight of supporters, they’ve been utilizing a running rugby blueprint alongside their forward dominance. While it has brought spectacular tries, the ease with which they sometimes score has led them to take their foot off the accelerator. That allows the opposition to claw their way back into the game — something that has already happened twice this season.

The most recent example was against the Wallabies at Ellis Park, when the visitors came from 22–0 down to win 38–22. Before that, Italy mounted a strong fightback at Loftus Versfeld in July, but the Boks managed to stave off their less-fancied opponents on that occasion. Australia, however, is a different kettle of fish, and they showed why the Boks can’t afford to rest on their laurels.

Saturday’s clash at DHL Stadium (kick-off at 5:10pm) looks set to be a wet and muddy affair, with rainy weather predicted. That could set the stage for a tighter match, likely to be won in the trenches.

And that will suit the Springboks. They are at their most dangerous with their backs against the wall and often produce match-winning performances when they drag opposition teams into a bruising, physical battle.

That said, there will be plenty of urgency on the South African side.

They haven’t lost back-to-back home matches against Australia since 1963, coincidentally also in Johannesburg and Cape Town, and they’ll be eager to avoid history repeating itself. Another positive for the world champions is that they’ve won seven of their last eight matches against the Wallabies in Cape Town since 1992 — momentum they’ll want to maintain.

While the Boks have thrived under head coach Rassie Erasmus and his varied game plans, they will likely revert to the tried-and-tested South African tradition of a forwards-dominated game in a bid to secure victory.

“We want all our matches to be a grind, because then we do well,” Erasmus said this week.

“It’s actually a bit sad because you want to change your game plan, and you don’t always want that gun to your head to play well. It’s frustrating. We are with our backs to the wall, but hopefully we do what we always do, and fight.”

Springboks matchday 23 v Australia for Cape Town

Starting XV: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel (captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Lood de Jager, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

Wallabies: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Corey Toole, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Nic White, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight (captain), 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 Tom Robertson. Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Andrew Kellaway.

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