Forwards coach Neal Hatley believes that a “fearsome” Australia pack can outscrum the Springboks in the Republic, but consistency and mongrel will be the key.
The Aussies open their Rugby Championship campaign against the Boks at Loftus Versfeld on 8 July in the much-anticipated first game of Eddie Jones’ second tenure as head coach.
The Wallabies have lost their last seven Tests in South Africa and have never beaten the Boks on the Highveld since first facing them in Pretoria in 1963.
But, Hatley, the SA-born scrum guru handpicked by Jones to join his coaching team, is relishing the challenge and, win or lose, he believes the Boks will provide the Wallabies with an important barometer in preparation for the World Cup.
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“It’s a great test,” he said on Rugby Australia’s official website. “The Springboks, of course, always have two sets of front-rowers and are always ready to roll on and off, so it’s pretty much as much in the deep end as you could get for this first Test.
“It’s probably what we would have wanted, to go away to Loftus, which is a real fortress for them. A game where Australia haven’t won before and take on the world champions.
“Yeah, it’ll give us a really good bar-mark of where we are, what we need to do and where we need to keep improving. It’s fantastic.”
“Eddie’s expectations are really clear. He wants a fearsome Wallabies pack,” Hatley added. “He wants a pack that can scrum – and more – with the best of them.
“We don’t need any angels. We need to be attacking every set-piece that we can.”
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