Rassie Erasmus’ take on Wallabies and the ‘threat’ Springboks expected

Rassie Erasmus has delivered a positive assessment of Les Kiss’ “technically sharp” Wallabies side after a dramatic 42-38 defeat in Perth, while also revealing where the Springboks expected the home side to pose the biggest threat.

Kiss remains unbeaten in the Wallabies’ top job, backing up two wins over the Brave Blossoms with a historic series win in Argentina. The Aussies then turned their focus to the two-time reigning world champions, who were coming off the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series.

The Springboks made 13 changes to the starting side that overcame the All Blacks in Baltimore earlier this month, but it was still a team that included 10 Rugby World Cup winners and boasted more than 340 Test caps of experience on the bench.

Australia led by 25 points with less than 15 minutes remaining, but four yellow cards saw the men in gold go down to 11. It sparked a nail-biting end to the Test, with the South Africans making it a one-score game with time still on the clock.

But the Wallabies held on, to the delight of those fans in gold watching on. Kiss now has a record of four wins and one draw in the top job, as the Wallabies continue to build towards Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 on home.

“They are great, detailed guys. With Les being at Ulster, I know the Irish system, it’s technical and I’ve coached at Munster. They are the small detail they get right; the lineouts, they don’t make a mistake there. They always fill the field on defnece, there’s numbers on their feet,” Erasmus said.

“The threat where we thought they would be really great was the breakdown. I thought we nullified that in a big way but they’re a really technically sharp coached team.

“We normally find it difficult against a team that don’t miss their roles at the breakdown. They’re difficult to play.”

Wallabies captain Harry Wilson and winger Max Jorgensen had crossed for a try each during the second half, but the Boks fought their way back. Coach Erasmus unloaded the entire bench in the 47^th minute, with some dual World Cup winners making their mark.

Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche and Lood de Jager were all brought on as impact players, and the Boks wrestled back control of the Test in the dying stages. Yellow cards against the Wallabies were a talking point, but the visitors made the most of their advantage.

Morne Van Den Berg and Ox Nche scored, and a penalty try was awarded, as Boks fans dared to dream of an almighty comeback.  But with the Wallabies holding on, Erasmus hinted at the possibility of a World Cup playoff meeting between the sides next year.

“I know us as African supporters, if I want to say now we’re learning a lot while we’re losing… they’ll be upset,” Erasmus reflected.

“If we pull this through, I’ll sit here and say, ‘Sh**, we learned a lot about our players again tonight, about tight situations.’ If I say it when we lose, it’s a cliché.

“But the matter of fact is Australia is a good team and they’ve definitely improved a lot since Les has been there. They play at home. They’re the World Cup hosts next year.

“We might strike them in a vital playoff game, and it’s nice to have a taste of them tonight, so next year when we play them, we’ll know a little bit more about each other. I’m not going to say ‘lessons learned,’2 but I think what happened tonight was a valuable experience.”