Boks wary of 'dark places' Eddie Jones has taken Wallabies

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick and captain Duane Vermeulen are wary of what Eddie Jones’ Wallabies are bringing to the table in their opening Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

The pair emphasized the importance of being at the top of their game as well as being adaptable when they line up against Australia following their final on-field preparations on Friday.

“A Test against Australia is always big,” said Stick. “The match was sold out a long time ago, and the boys are excited. So it’s going to be a big game.”

Both teams will take the field for the first time this season at Fortress Loftus in a Test which both sides will target for a victory to set the tone for what is a very important season with the Rugby World Cup kicking off in September.

“They have a strong team and they’ll be up for it,” Stick continued. “We’ve tried to analyze them, and we know what we’ve looked at won’t be 100% correct because Eddie (Jones – Australian coach) can take the players to dark places to get the best out of them.”

The visitors will have the extra motivation of possibly making history by becoming the first Australian team to win at Loftus Versfeld – a factor the Boks were well aware of.

“They’ll come to Pretoria wanting to change history,” Stick added.

Stick, however, said there was an air of excitement in the Bok camp for the clash: “There’s a big feeling of excitement in the squad, especially with it being a Rugby World Cup year. The balance of youth and experience in this team excites me, and there are some guys coming back from injury. So, I like what I’m seeing.”

“That said, we know if we are not at our best, it could be a long day because this is a good Australian side and they have a lot of experienced players in the squad,” he added.

With Australia being somewhat of an unknown factor, Vermeulen said he and his teammates had to be ready for anything Australia produced on the day.

“We have to be adaptable,” said Vermeulen. “We have our plan, and they’ll have theirs, but we’ll have to see how things play out and make plans accordingly. It will come down to us stopping what they bring.”

Of being handed the captain’s armband, Vermeulen said: “It’s unbelievable to have the honor of leading a Springbok team, and we’ll go out there and give our best. There are a few players in the team that have captained their club or franchise teams, so we can make decisions together.”