Boks will be wary of poor record in Australia
OPINION: The Springboks are about to depart on their tour of Australia and they will be very aware of their poor record Down Under.
It is one of the great conundrums of the modern Springbok era.
In 21 games in Australia since the World Cup in 2003, the Boks have won just four times, drawn once, and lost on 16 occasions.
Bok captain Siya Kolisi and head coach Rassie Erasmus took the Springboks to the highest peak of the sport when they won the World Cup again in 2023, yet the one challenge they cannot get their heads around is consistent success in Australia.
The Springboks will face the Wallabies in the Rugby Championship in Brisbane (August 10) and Perth (August 17).
With their below-par record in Brisbane through the years, they face a daunting task when they get ready for the clash at ‘The Cauldron’ in Brisbane.
The back-to-back World Cup champions have had a dismal time in Brisbane where they have only managed to win once out of 13 outings since 1993.
This trend is not just evident in the professional era, but also when it was still an amateur game.
The Springboks’ first-ever Test against Australia in Brisbane took place in 1956, a match that saw the visitors record a 9-0 victory.
Their second triumph was in 1971, beating the hosts by 14-6.
Since 2003, the Brisbane Tests between Australia and South Africa have been played at the rebranded Lang Park, also affectionately known as ‘The Cauldron’.
In the 2003 Test against the Wallabies, the Boks suffered a 9-29 defeat.
Their sole triumph at this venue was in 2013 when the Springboks recorded a 38-12 win over the Wallabies during the Rugby Championship.
Coached by Heyneke Meyer and captained by Jean de Villiers, the Springboks outscored the hosts four tries to nil.
In 2018, Australia recorded a 23-18 victory. The defeat was embarrassing for head coach Rassie Erasmus that year.
However, it was nothing compared to their biggest defeat, 0-49 in 2006, during the Tri-Nations.
Coached by Jake White, that loss is still the Boks’ heaviest defeat to the Wallabies.
Australia and New Zealand would have taken note of the Boks’ last outing against Ireland in Durban.
In 2019, South Africa was crowned champions for the first time since 2009 after bonus-point wins over Australia in Johannesburg and Argentina in Pretoria, and a draw against New Zealand in Wellington.
Perth Stadium will be the World Champions’ second stop on tour.
It will be the first time the Springboks have played there since 2017 while the Wallabies will be making their fourth visit following the Bledisloe Cups in 2019 and 2021 and the Wallabies v England Test in July 2022.
The Wallabies are set to strengthen their squad with international reinforcements potentially including Will Skelton and wing Marika Koroibete ahead of the first Test of the Rugby Championship against South Africa next month.
Coach Joe Schmidt has selected solely domestic-based players for his first three Test victories, against Wales (twice) and Georgia, but the impending visit of the world champions to Brisbane on August 10 will force the New Zealander to cast his selection net overseas to add class to his squad.
Skelton captained the Wallabies at the World Cup but has not played Test rugby since the opening victory over Georgia in France last September after injuring his calf in training.
