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Australian captain Michael Hooper wants full focus on Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash with South Africa in Perth, which promises to be an emotionally charged affair following Western Force’s axing from Super Rugby.
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The Wallabies take on the Springboks at nib Stadium aiming to register their first win of the competition having suffered successive defeats to New Zealand.
On Tuesday, the Force lost an appeal against the Australian Rugby Union’s decision to drop them from Super Rugby, which has been reduced from 18 to 15 teams.
Three Force players – Adam Coleman, Tatafu Polota-Nau and Curtis Rona – are in the squad, while wing Dane Haylett-Petty has been sidelined as he faces biceps surgery.
Hooper said of the Force saga: “It hasn’t been swept under the rug by any means. We dealt with it when that stuff happened earlier in the week and we supported the guys who were directly impacted.
“It impacted on all of us but [it] directly impacted some of those players. We offered our support and the best way we can do that is by focusing on the common goal of this Test match.”
The Springboks, who dispensed of Argentina in back-to-back games in this season’s Rugby Championship, have lost three of their last five meetings with the Wallabies, though they did prevail in October last year.
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The Springboks have won their last five games in a row having beaten France 3-0 in a series in June and coach Allister Coetzee said: “Even though we travelled to three continents in 10 days, this group has the desire to get better, and learn from previous experiences.
“The performance in Salta [against Argentina] was not perfect, but we are looking forward to the next opportunity to improve as individuals and as a team.”
One more sleep and everyone's excited! ? #AUSvRSA #TRC2017 pic.twitter.com/P8akkk1Fr8
— Qantas Wallabies (@qantaswallabies) September 8, 2017
HEAD TO HEAD
Springboks: 46
Wallabies: 36
Draw: 1
KEY PLAYERS
Wallabies – Israel Folau
Full-back Folau was excellent for the Wallabies in both losses to the All Blacks. He has 22 carries so far in the tournament for 255 metres, making four clean breaks and scoring two tries. Expect Folau to play a pivotal role in the Australia attack.
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Springboks – Ross Cronje
Cronje returns to the scrum-half position after ankle ligament damage kept him out of the 41-23 victory in Argentina last time out. He will need to quickly re-establish a rapport with fly-half Elton Jantjies for the Springboks to succeed.
LINE-UPS
Wallabies: Israel Folau, Henry Speight, Tevita Kuridrani, Kurtley Beale, Reece Hodge, Bernard Foley, Will Genia; Scott Sio, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Sekope Kepu, Rory Arnold, Adam Coleman, Ned Hanigan, Michael Hooper (captain), Sean McMahon.
Replacements: Jordan Uelese, Tom Robertson, Allan Alaalatoa, Rob Simmons, Jack Dempsey, Nick Phipps, Samu Kerevi, Curtis Rona.
Springboks: Andries Coetzee, Raymond Rhule, Jesse Kriel, Jan Serfontein, Courtnall Skosan, Elton Jantjies, Ross Cronje; Tendai Mtawarira, Malcolm Marx, Coenie Oosthuizen, Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Jaco Kriel, Uzair Cassiem.
Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Steven Kitshoff, Trevor Nyakane, Lood de Jager, Jean-Luc du Preez, Francois Hougaard, Handre Pollard, Damian de Allende.
PRE-MATCH TALK
Australia coach Michael Cheika on South Africa: “They’ve been physical around their forward pack and their backs as well… their backs are big, strong-running players. But they’ve also been creative as well.”
South Africa coach Allister Coetzee on the Wallabies: “They are a well-coached side, with great deception in attack. Their playmakers and strike runners complement each other very well and we will have to be very sharp on defence.”
KEY STATS
– The Wallabies have won seven of their last eight games when hosting the Springboks, including their last three; though, they’ve not scored more than 26 points in such a fixture since 2011.
– South Africa will be searching for back-to-back wins away from home for the first time since a brace of wins against England and Italy in 2014 (excluding 2015 Rugby World Cup).
– Tevita Kuridrani is set to line up for his 50th Test cap for Australia, he scored a try on his last start against the Springboks (2015).
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to comments