Utility forward Lukhan Salakia-Loto believes the Wallabies can use the power of a sold-out Suncorp Stadium to continue their winning record against the Springboks in Brisbane.
The Wallabies will open the Rugby Championship with a clash against the Springboks at the Suncorp Stadium, where they have lost once to the world champions in 12 matches since 1965.
Less than 500 tickets were left on sale for Saturday’s match on Monday morning, with over 50,000 fans expected to attend.
“You can’t look further then, I’m hearing rumours that it’s almost a sell-out at Suncorp (Stadium) so the fans are a big one, a big part of that,” Salakia-Loto, who can play at lock and flank, said.
“We’re going to use every single one of them to get behind us and rally us against the South Africans.
“Number one, the fans are so supportive and huge, but two, we’ve had some close, tough wins at Suncorp in recent times. We use that and we draw upon that and the boys have had good success here, not only at Test level but at Super Rugby level.
“I think the boys are familiar with the ground. Good weather up here also plays a part.
“I guess we win games here, we grow in confidence and it becomes a fortress the more you win so hopefully we can keep that going.”
MORE: Rugby Champs using 20-min red card
Sanzaar announced on Tuesday that several law variations will be in place during this year’s Rugby Championship.
Along with the 20-minute red card trial, there will also added protection to scrumhalves at set-pieces, while scrums and lineouts will have to be formed within 30 seconds, aimed at speeding the game up.
“It sucks. I want the game to slow down. I struggle to keep up,” joked Salakia-Loto when asked about the trials.
“No, it’s good. We want the game to be entertaining and for that to happen, you’ve got to try and speed up the game in any ways that you can.
“It doesn’t change too much for us. We’ve got our systems and Joe [Schmidt] has a certain way that he wants us to play. I think it just plays right into our hands. It’s attacking footy and speed of ball is important for all teams … whilst it’s going to hurt on the fitness side of things.”
Photo: Albert Perez/Getty Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
