Pap geslaan by the All Blacks in the first two matches of the Rugby Championship, Wallabies assistant coach Dan McKellar doesn’t believe the Springboks will give them the same challenge on Sunday.
New Zealand smashed Australia 57-22 in the first match of the tournament before beating them 38-21 in Perth last weekend, while South Africa beat Argentina 32-12 and 29-10 in Mzansi in their first two matches.
The Wallabies leaked 14 tries to the All Blacks in the two matches, while scoring six of their own.
Coach Jacques Nienaber’s Boks, meanwhile, only totalled five in their two matches.
Furthermore, SA made the fewest clean breaks in the tournament to date with five, while the All Blacks made 26 and the Wallabies 21.
A look at the metres carried – South Africa are third with 710 and Australia second to New Zealand with 1 143 metres – also paints a picture that the Springboks prefer to put their opponents under pressure without ball in hand.
While their game plan has been slammed all over the world, the World Cup holders have stood by their plan which sees No.9 Faf de Klerk kick the ball a lot.
And with the Queensland clash between the winless Wallabies against unbeaten Boks coming up on Sunday, McKellar says: “I wouldn’t say they’re a tougher task. They’re a very different side to New Zealand.
“We’ve got to be smart with the ball that they kick us and be really clear on our strategy and tactics.”
The message from the hosts is clear: kick us the ball and we’ll work it.
The Wallabies, meanwhile, might be boosted by the return to play of James O’Connor, who has been struggling with injuries of late, at flyhalf.
Coach Dave Rennie tells Fox Sports: “We’ve got to assess where James is at. He’s back at training.”