'Respect's earned daily': Wallabies maestro poises team for encore

Hollywood would struggle to script the drama the Wallabies delivered at Ellis Park over the weekend, where their roller-coaster win over the heavily favoured Springboks shook more than just the fans.

Wallabies super-sub Tate McDermott was thrown into the contest after 48 minutes as his side battled injury woes, meaning the halfback entered the game on the wing for the second time in 2025. Watching the first half from the sidelines, the Reds star was right there with the rest of the audience in a state of “shock”.

Having watched their side fall behind 22-0 after 18 minutes, the Wallabies bench could do nothing but wait for their time as one of rugby’s great venues erupted for try after try.

The Johannesburg faithful would soon fall quiet, though, as a decades-long winning streak came crumbling down.

“Obviously it’s been 60-odd years since we got a result at Ellis Park, so yeah, huge occasion and we’ve been talking a lot about how we’re trending in the right direction and that was another step, but it doesn’t mean much if we don’t back it up this weekend,” McDermott reflected, talking to reporters in Cape Town.

“The Springboks are world-class. We saw what they did in the first 20 minutes; they tore us to shreds. We know that they’re coming and they’re coming hard, so we’re going to back it up.

“I wasn’t out there, but on the bench we were obviously in a bit of shock – they went bang, bang, bang pretty quick and the way that they scored their tries through width, through skill and through power, is exactly what they’re famous for.

“The way that we stuck in the fight was something I was really proud of from the bench, it looked like we always had that belief, even though you’re standing there after 18 minutes and it’s 22-0.

“The fight that we showed to stay in there and the resolve we showed and the way we fought our way back into that second quarter in particular was something we could be really proud of.

“For us, we’re on a journey. Respect’s earned daily for us, we’ve got to continue to earn that respect and also give our supporters, not only in Australia but across the globe, something to cheer about.”

Points Flow Chart

Australia win +16

Time in lead

62

Mins in lead

18

78%

% Of Game In Lead

23%

36%

Possession Last 10 min

64%

0

Points Last 10 min

5

What the sequel has in store is yet to be seen, but the Wallabies will be expecting a hungry, uncompromising Boks outfit in Cape Town.

“Whenever you’re going up against the Boks, your forward pack has got to be brilliant and [we] were good on the weekend, but the challenge for [us] is repeating that,” McDermott continued.

“Knowing guys like Etzebeth, these kinds of guys are going to be absolutely raring to go, so it’s going to be a great challenge for our guys, and they’re going to need to step up again.”

While McDermott ended the game at halfback, his second foray in the outside backs in the space of three games came as a pleasant surprise.

“That’s something I really enjoy; I just like playing rugby, and when you don’t have to be in there passing every time or box kicking, running is something I love to do.

“My job is to try and come on and change the game. Obviously, when I’m coming on, there’s quite a bit of fatigue in the big boys’ legs out there, so I’m just looking to play my game, which is taking on people around the fringes and creating space for other people.”

The man leading the Wallabies’ revival tour, head coach Joe Schmidt, is fulfilling his final two campaigns with the team before his contract expires, and Les Kiss succeeds him. Having inherited a Wallabies outfit reeling from a World Cup crash-out, McDermott says Schmidt’s influence has been superb.

“Joe’s attention to detail has been phenomenal for this group, the way he’s moulded a group that hasn’t had a lot of success in the past together and some of the results over the past nine, 12 months that he’s been able to achieve have been pretty special.

“It’s been a pleasure to be a part of it. So we’re very fortunate to have him here, and all the boys work hard and listen to everything he says because he’s got golden nuggets for us every single day.

“That’s what’s been so good to be a part of the journey because you’re genuinely in this environment getting better.”