'We've got to take it to them': Alarm bells ringing for Boks?
SPOTLIGHT: The Wallabies are ready to take the fight to South Africa after building some confidence during their three-Test series against the British and Irish Lions.
Joe Schmidt’s side suffered a 1-2 series defeat on home soil to the Lions, but there were plenty of signs that they are on an upward curve with their performances.
They recorded a morale-boosting 22-12 win in the third Test in Sydney after narrowly going down 26-29 at the death in the second clash in Melbourne.
The Wallabies departed for South Africa on Saturday, where they will face the Springboks in Johannesburg next weekend before another outing in Cape Town on August 23.
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“We are pretty pumped,” Wallaby wing Max Jorgensen told reporters at the Sydney International Airport.
“After our last win against the Lions, we built a bit of confidence.”
“South Africa are a bloody good team, so we’ve got to really take it to them and bring the physicality and hopefully come out with a win.”
The tour to South Africa will be a new experience for the 20-year-old Jorgensen, who made his Test debut against the Springboks in a 12-30 defeat in Perth last year.
His reputation has grown over the last few weeks after he started all three Tests against the British & Irish Lions, scoring tries in the first and third match.
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“I’ve never been to South Africa, so I am pretty excited to get over there and see what it is all about,” he said.
“But I played against them in my debut. They are a physical team; they are big, strong, and fast, so we have a big challenge ahead of us.
Jorgensen added: “It’s who you want to play against. You don’t want to play against the lower-tier nations.
“You want to play against those higher-tier nations with strong players because it challenges you as a team and as a player.”
The Wallabies are still very much in a building phase, but they will certainly have a clearer picture of their growth after their Tests against the Springboks.
“We’ve got to stick to the process for sure. We are still building, and we are a work in progress,” said Jorgensen.
“We are not perfect, so we will take our learnings from the last game, and we’ve got to keep building in South Africa and through the Rugby Championship.”
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