‘Desperate’ Boks targeting ‘special’ Perth win

Mzwandile Stick says that the heavily-changed Springboks are hungry to finish their mini-tour of Australia unbeaten as they brace for a Wallabies backlash in Perth tomorrow.

A Springbok team featuring 10 changes from the one that claimed a comfortable victory in the opening round of the Rugby Championship in Brisbane is locked and loaded to make another piece of history in Perth.

Opportunities for South Africa to win a mini-series in Australia have been few and far between in the professional era.

In 2021, the Boks lost both of their away games against the Wallabies, while in 2022, the world champions bounced back from a defeat in Adelaide to win in Sydney.

“We want to win the game tomorrow,” assistant coach Stick said. “That would be even better for us, to win two out of two away from home. We know that in the past it has not been easy for us to get a win in Australia.

“Last week we started really well and were in control for most of the game. If we can get two wins out of two, it would be special.”

While there has been plenty of focus on the number of changes Rassie Erasmus has made to South Africa’s matchday-23, the Springboks will still have 15 players with a Rugby World Cup winners medal, on show in Perth.

This includes loosehead prop Thomas du Toit, centre Lukhanyo Am and veteran wing Makazole Mapimpi, who all make their returns after missing out on last week’s game.

“We have an open policy about how we operate and how we do things. We want to build squad depth,” Stick explained.

“Selecting the same team doesn’t guarantee us a win. If you look at what happened against Ireland, when we selected the same 23 and then we didn’t pitch up.

“There are lots of experienced players who are also getting opportunities. Guys like Thomas du Toit, Lukhanyo Am and Mapimps. These guys have been pushing really hard in training sessions. They are really training well as a team.

“The more competition that we get, the better it is for us as a coaching staff. Whatever happens tomorrow, I know one thing for sure: These guys are going to put their hands up and will give us a lot of answers before the games against New Zealand.”

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Stick isn’t expecting tomorrow’s clash to be nearly as straightforward for the Boks as the battle of Brisbane, especially as the hosts have got a much-needed injection of experience in veteran backs Marika Koroibete and Nic White.

“We have to improve tomorrow to get that second win. We know that it’s not going to be easy,” Stick said.

“If you look at that Australian team, they have a lot of experience coming back with guys like Marika Koroibete and Nic White. It’s going to be a different challenge.

“We’ve been where they are as a team, on the other side of things, when we were desperate for a win. The key thing is that the players who are getting an opportunity for us are also in a desperate position to prove to us as coaches that they have what it takes.

“Whatever happened last week is in the past. If we don’t pitch up with a desperate mindset tomorrow, we will have a long day at the office.”

The match kicks off at 11:45.

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