Playing 2027 World Cup hosts Australia in Perth on Sunday offers the Springboks a golden opportunity to lay down an important marker ahead of the fast-approaching global showpiece, coach Rassie Erasmus said.
After emerging with an emphatic 3-1 win in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks, the Boks have landed in Australia and are preparing to face a Wallabies outfit who are enjoying a new lease of life under coach Les Kiss.
Erasmus says it will be a totally different challenge in front of 62,000 fans at the Optus Stadium in Perth (kickoff 11.45pm SA time) compared to what SA faced against the All Blacks.
“People always ask how important this game against Australia is,” Erasmus said.
“Australia is a great country, and they’re hosting the World Cup next year, so for us it is massive to be able to play against the World Cup hosts.
“If you think about the rivalry with David Campese and Pieter Hendricks in the 1995 World Cup opening game and the fact I played against the likes of George Gregan and Stephen Larkham.
“They won the World Cup in 2003.
“They will be ready and fresh to face the Springboks in Perth.
“Australia have shown good form in recent Tests, and we come from a tough series against New Zealand.
“The matches have nothing to do with each other, and this will be a totally different challenge.”
Erasmus said the Springboks had found the Wallabies difficult to play against in the past.
In 2025, the Boks raced into a 22-0 lead before conceding 38 unanswered points to lose 38-22 to the Wallabies at Ellis Park.
“And it was at altitude, and they only flew in that week,” Erasmus said.
“There was a little bit of arrogance from our side, being 22 up, and thinking, ‘it’s easy, boys, now’.
“I wouldn’t say it was disrespect, but I would say, stupidly, we thought, ‘OK, now we just can play this bloody loose game against Australia’.
“And they held it, and Max Jorgensen and those guys cut us to pieces.
“They could have even given us more points in that game. They smashed us.
“We find them tremendously difficult to play against; I don’t know why.
“You just can’t say Australia play a certain way. That’s what’s tough for me, too, to analyse about them,” he said.
“We have immense respect for the Wallabies.
“You look at the track record; we struggle. We never think, ‘Oh, we have Australia’s measure’, no. That’s not in our minds.”
Bok skipper Siya Kolisi said the players were expecting a tough battle in Perth.
“Obviously the last few games have been successful for us, but we’ve always had tough battles against Australia and they’re different to New Zealand,” he said.
“Our core values will stay the same going into this game, but we’ll have to change a few things.
“Being here in Australia now, preparing for Australia is really important.
“It’s a team that we’ve had a couple of tough battles against, but training has been going well this week, and it’s been good being here in Terrigal and just seeing a lot of South Africans coming out here to support us.”
A revamped Springbok team will take to the field to facethe Wallabies after Erasmus decided to send Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende home for some well-earned rest and recuperation.
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