The Springboks are aware of their Brisbane hoodoo but are approaching the 2024 Rugby Championship opener against the Wallabies on Saturday with a fresh mindset as the world champions look to kickstart their campaign with a win. DYLAN JACK reports.
The Boks will kick off the 2024 Rugby Championship against the Wallabies at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday, where they have a dismal record against the Wallabies.
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Having lost 11 out of 12 Tests since 1996 – with their only victory coming in 2013 – the Boks will need to banish their Brisbane hoodoo if they want to get their campaign off to a winning start.
However, it appears that the world champions are entering this game with a different mindset, having arrived early in Australia last week to give themselves an extra few days to acclimatise.
“We are aware of the record that they have against us, which is great for them,” assistant coach Daan Human said. “But I don’t think many of us have been part of that team and coaching staff from that long ago.
“It’s history. Saturday’s game will also be history on Sunday. It’s just a fact.
“From our side, we are just doing everything to be well prepared to face them and having a good performance. They will be doing the same. Come Saturday, we know we need to pitch up physically.”
When playing in front of their home fans, the Wallabies have tended to find a way to negate the Springboks’ strengths, with Australia seeming to sap the power from the Bok pack.
Human said that finding a way to negotiate the Wallabies’ tricks at the scrum will be crucial to Saturday’s contest.
“Every team has got a lot of strengths. I suppose the scrum is one of our strengths,” Human said.
“Yes, they always find a way to manage us and to handle us. Sometimes they are good and sometimes they are not so good.
“In their last three games, they have a 100% record from their scrums. They have a much more stable scrum than in the past. But then so do we and we are working on some new things that we want to implement. We will see how it goes on Saturday.”
Under Joe Schmidt, who replaced Eddie Jones after the disastrous World Cup pool exit, the Wallabies have made a successful start to 2024, winning their series against Wales and beating Georgia in a hard-fought contest.
“They have a new coaching staff and have made a lot of changes, but they have done really well by beating Wales twice. They are four games unbeaten on the trot, which is great for them,” Human said.
“Like us, they have made a few changes. They have a new scrum coach, Mike Cron, who brings a lot of experience, coming in from New Zealand. They are doing very well at the moment.
“I can’t say that they are better prepared than they were in the past. I will never look down on the previous coach. But I can assure you that there is a lot of progress going on there and they are playing a good brand of rugby.”
Photo: Jono Searle/Getty Images
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