Jake White: The details in Springboks' loss that raise questions for me

I spent a bit of time in the Wallabies camp this week. Why? Because a few of my old Brumbies squad members invited me in for a coffee.

I pitched up for a catch-up with Nic White, Laurie Fisher and the team’s lead physio Byron Field. They were good value and hospitable hosts and I’m glad I made the effort so we could retell some stories and reminisce over old times.

That’s one of the wonderful things about rugby, you can pick up where you left off in an instant, even if you haven’t seen them for years. It will surprise no one that they are very upbeat. The result has made the squad walk an inch taller because of what they achieved.

To be honest, I’m still processing the result at Ellis Park because it is without doubt one of the biggest upsets of the year. Who would have thought the Wallabies would have been able to chalk off a 62-year losing record when no one gave them a chance? Not me.

Results like that put into perspective why fans follow sporting teams around the world. People talk about seeing Tiger Woods holing a putt at Augusta, Roger Federer acing opponents at Wimbledon or Usain Bolt winning an Olympic gold. Sports fans want a piece of history. They live for the days when they can say, ‘I was there’. Tears of happiness flowed for anyone with an Australian persuasion.

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If we stick with the Wallabies and the bigger picture, it’s a boost for the game to see a weakened superpower rebuilding firm foundations with a home World Cup drawing closer. You can’t underestimate the confidence the Wallabies will have taken from beating the Lions and the Springboks on consecutive weekends. That’s what sport does. They now have firm foundations to kick on for the 2027 tournament.

You know, I was listening to Virgil van Dijk the other day. He was talking about the responsibility of being the Liverpool captain. The commentators said the one thing that impressed them most was his understanding of the club’s history and what it meant to the people and the city. I say this because none of those youngsters on the pitch at Ellis Park, like Max Jorgensen, Joseph Suaalii and Fraser McReight, could remember 1963, but the kids watching their heroes on TV back in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will remember how the 2025 victory made them feel and it will inspire them to do the same.

From a coaching point of view, what I took out of the game was that the Wallabies had learnt their lessons. They were 23-5 up against the Lions and dominating the Second Test, yet they lost it in the last minute. It’s clear they knew that if they held their nerve and found the space they could come back and win the game.

If you saw the stats, they were enlightening. The Boks ran more, passed more and kicked less than any other Rugby Championship side this weekend and the net result was a defeat which put into question their entire philosophy. I mean, when was the last time they conceded 38 unanswered points? After 25 minutes, you’d have hedged your bets on a Springbok bonus point but they came away with zip.

In the post-match inquest, what’s come under scrutiny is the 5-3 bench. A lot of fans have said it’s down to the altitude and the ‘Bomb Squad’ not being needed. What I will say is it will be completely different in Cape Town. They are expecting rain and the game will be played at sea level, so radically different to Joburg, but interestingly similar to the conditions in the Third Test in Sydney less than a month ago.

Selection-wise, the 9-10 combination has been criticised, and a change has been made. For their part, the Wallabies had Nic [White] and James O’Connor in a key leadership position and they had to navigate coming back from 22 points down. You could see they were extremely vocal and that’s the value of experience.

That clever pass over the top JOC made to Jorgensen was similar to the speculative pass made by Manie Libbok which was intercepted by Suaalii. As is often the case, O’Connor’s selection happened by default but his leadership was a massive shot in the arm for the team. To his credit, Rassie accepted they got stronger as the game went on, when people thought they’d fall away.

Another area criticised was the breakdown, but I don’t think the back row is a major issue. Siya [Kolisi] left the field after 55 minutes and Marco van Staden had to leave the field for an HIA (head injury assessment) and it coincided with Australia starting to turn the game around. At 22-0 down, they needed the bounce of a ball and they got it. I listened to Joe [Schmidt] after the game. He said he knew they’d had the rub of the green. The fact that ball spilled from Esterhuizen’s despairing hands into a gleeful Tom Wright’s path for him to go the full length turned what could have been a 33-29 nail-biter in the last five minutes into a 38-22 comfortable win. That’s the small margins in Test rugby.

The other detail I noticed was that the Wallabies looked athletically quicker. I say that because when the outside backs went inside-outside, they left Boks defenders trailing. Look at the [Tom] Wright, Suaalii tries and first Harry Wilson try. Our outside backs Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian Willemse and Jesse Kriel were all outpaced. Was it miles on the clock or had they been flogged too hard in training? It’s something that needs looking at. Of course, it’ll be softer underfoot in Cape Town and questions will be nullified due to the heavy pitch.

South Africa are now under pressure so they have reverted to Pollard at 10, which means they will kick more. It will have nothing to do with going into their shell because people are questioning Tony Brown’s attacking ethos, but conditions-wise, pressure-wise and selection-wise, they will be more conservative. Canan Moodie is on the field to contest kick-offs and take cross-field kicks. His height will be useful in a wet-weather game. It’s going to be a compelling, attritional battle.

Regardless of the result this weekend, what this last few weeks has done is to reassert the Wallabies at rugby’s top table and that can only be positive for rugby. Having coached there, they need union to do well on the field for fans to be attracted to the game. There weren’t many people putting their hands up for the Wallaby job 18 months ago, even Joe Schmidt was slated by ex-players as not being up to the job, but by beating South Africa in Johannesburg, they have eked out a statement victory.

As for the Springboks, making 10 changes goes against every cohesive sporting study I’ve seen but they have time to experiment. Any team that has dominated for a period will always face challenges and challengers. There’s no right or wrong way to navigate a World Cup cycle. Some will say a loss now can be a good thing but no sporting team ever wants to lose. They have two massive Tests in New Zealand, and they’ve taken on a completely different feel to what they did before. We’re about to find out what these Springboks are made of.