Former Force coach Wessels expects 'a helluva game' between Wallabies and Boks

Dave Wessels‚ the former coach of the now defunct Super Rugby entity the Western Force‚ has been pleasantly surprised by the rapid progress the Springboks have made this season.

Speaking from Perth where the Boks are preparing to take on the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship clash on Saturday‚ Wessels said he had been impressed with the team's turnaround this season following five straight wins.

“I'm actually surprised at the amount of progress they've made in the last couple of months‚” said Wessels‚ who went on to pinpoint the roots of the revival.

“I caught up with some of the Boks the other day and my overall impression was that there is just a fantastic mood in the squad. That is a credit to Allister (Coetzee) and the rest of the coaches.

“In fact‚ you can see that in the way they are playing. They are playing for each other.

"They play with a huge amount of energy. Everybody works really hard for each other. When there is success the team is up for high fives and that is the foundation of a really good team.”

The Cape Town-born coach said building combinations in key areas has also helped contribute to the Boks' success this year.

“Ben Darwin (former Wallaby prop) talks about the value of team cohesion. He says the more players play with each other the more chance the team has of being successful.

"It is certainly true of the Ross Cronjé and Elton Jantjies partnership. They are good as a pairing because they have played so much rugby together.

"That is the kind of combination successful Springbok teams have had. Allister has been very smart in the way he has built that.”

Wessels warned‚ however‚ that as much as the Boks have made some positive strides‚ the Wallabies are also on the path to restoration.

He believes the Wallabies will get better over the coming months as the influence of assistant coaches Stephen Larkham and Nathan Grey‚ who now operate in a full time capacity‚ take effect.

“That is going to make a massive difference to their performance over the next couple of months. New Zealand have had full time assistant coaches for some time.

The uplift in performance will be noticeable.

“Apart from that first half in the first Test (against New Zealand) where the Wallabies got blown away‚ in the next three halves‚ the second half of that game as well as the following match in Dunedin‚ they were very competitive.

"Particularly their attack. A guy like Kurtley Beale has added a lot of value to them.”

Wessels said he expected “a helluva game” in Perth on Saturday.

“I think the Springboks will really pride themselves in an attritional kicking game and a physical defence. I think the Wallabies will try and unlock that with some enterprising attack. I think it will be a fantastic game.”

 - TimesLIVE