Surely, it is all set up for the Springboks to halt the losing habit against the Wallabies in Australia. It is not a statement but an exacerbated scream of bewilderment and despair. Surely not again?
The Springboks last won a Test against the Wallabies in Australia in 2013. They have won just four Tests in 29 against the Wallabies in Australia since the sport turned professional in 1996.
I say surely, but I don’t say it with the greatest conviction. It is said more with hope than any chest-beating bravado. I don’t know what it is about Springbok teams in Australia. So many good Bok teams have gone there and lost to struggling Wallabies.
The same goes for the Wallabies travelling to SA. Many a world-class Wallabies outfit has been downed by some pretty ordinary Springbok line-ups in the professional era. It remains one of rugby’s enigmas how the Springboks turn from granite to putty when landing in Australia to play the Wallabies. Ditto when the Australians arrive at OR Tambo in Johannesburg.
The focus for now is SA in Australia and a year ago I was bullish that the Boks would smash the Wallabies. The Boks, winners of the 2019 World Cup, had just secured a series win against the British & Irish Lions. They had then played two different teams against the Pumas on successive Saturday’s and pumped them by 20 points on both occasions. Australia, by contrast, were a shambles. They had taken a beating against the All Blacks and nothing suggested the Wallabies could compete, let alone win. Well, win they did, twice in succession, with the second victory a comprehensive one in which the hosts scored four tries as their attack toyed with the famed Springboks rush defence.
Potent Bok teams have stumbled against the Wallabies in Australia and less impressive Bok teams have been clobbered.
The first defeat stunned me; the second one humbled me. The only thing I had not learnt from history when it comes to the Boks in Australia is that I had not learnt from history. They rarely win. Brisbane has been a particular nightmare for the Springboks. They’ve won in Brisbane just once in 28 years, with the 1995, 2007 and 2019 World Champion Springboks all losing in Brisbane after winning the World Cup.
Potent Bok teams have stumbled against the Wallabies in Australia and less impressive Bok teams have been clobbered.
The location for the two-Test series surprised me, given SA’s history of losing in Brisbane. How did they not put the Boks there again? Instead, the Boks will play Australia in Adelaide for the first time in their history and Australia will play in Adelaide for the first time in 18 years. Adelaide is not a rugby union region and one would think that would be a great leveller for any visiting team. I have learnt that with the Boks in Australia, everything seems to be a leveller. And not in the way that favours SA.
Yet again I have found myself asking, how is it possible that the current Wallabies match-day squad could beat a Bok match-day line-up that includes 16 players who hammered England in the World Cup final in 2019?
The Boks were brilliant in beating the All Blacks in Nelspruit, only to implode a week later and concede two late tries to lose at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The Wallabies, against Argentina, produced a stirring second half comeback to win the first Test and then fell apart in a record-breaking seven-try to two 48-17 defeat.
The Wallabies have experienced a wretched time with injury and coach Dave Rennie has won just 10 of his 25 Tests. Significantly, two of those wins have come against a South African team that has been considered the best in the game for much of the past three seasons.
What do they put in the bottled water the Boks drink in Australia? Kryptonite? Who knows? Still, I find myself yet again thinking there is no convincing rugby argument that suggests betting against the Boks beating the Wallabies, regardless of where the match gets played.
A Bok-loving mate once told me, when in doubt, always pick the Boks by 10. So, I am picking the Boks by 10.
• Mark Keohane is the founder of keo.co.za, a multiple award-winning sports writer and the digital content director at Highbury Media. Twitter: @mark_keohane
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