Former Wallabies look for Boks’ weak link

Adam Ashley-Cooper, Drew Mitchell and Matt Giteau have credited Rassie Erasmus with honing the Springbok game to draw on player depth for an 80-minute onslaught.

The former Wallabies on the latest episode of the Kick Offs and Kick Ons podcast highlighted what has made the back-to-back world champions so difficult to beat after their Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series triumph over the All Blacks.

The Boks will look to carry that dominance into a one-off Test against the Wallabies in Perth on Sunday, 27 September.

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“It’s hard to find a weak link in their game,” Ashley-Cooper said. “Even when you’re previewing teams, it might be someone under the high ball, or someone’s inside shoulder in defence. 

“Their set-piece is dominant. Defensively, across the board, they’re strong. They’ve got a bit of line speed, they open up the edge for attacking teams – if you’re good enough to get there, that’s fair play. But their attack, their D, their power …”

Mitchell noted the impact of the bench as a point of difference, along with the Boks’ physicality. “Their carries are dominant. That helps. Even like [Andre] Esterhuizen, [Cameron] Hanekom off the bench; they come on – impact.”

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For Giteau, that strength in depth is precisely why opponents can no longer bank on wearing the Boks down over the course of a Test. 

“That’s why they’re No 1,” he said. “Every player, when you watch the Springboks – when you’re talking about the numbers they have on the bench and the impact that they have – every player seems to gain a level of confidence when they play for the Springboks. 

“It’s almost like they know they’re going to wear the teams down, and everyone comes on with such clarity. It just looks like they’re so well-oiled at the moment.”

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Ashley-Cooper called South Africa the most dominant team from kick-off and warned that rivals must simply survive the opening quarter-hour before the physicality tells.

Mitchell praised Erasmus’ man-management, crediting him with giving players clarity on where they stand. 

“To have so many players getting rotated so frequently and not have any fractures within the group … Everything you hear about the Springboks when they talk, it’s all about the team,” he added.

“To be able to manage that for over a sustained period of time is a pretty special quality as a coach.”

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