The Mandela Plate that is on the line this Saturday.
The Australian backline has a better balance but is it still one Waratah short? And which under-fire forward pack will bounce back – the Wallabies or Springboks?
The battle for the Mandela Trophy is almost upon us and we’ve got your top five talking points ready to go below!
Fox Sports
WALLABIES STILL ONE WARATAH SHORT?
The make-up of the Wallabies backline continues to divide opinion and while the decision to bring Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley into the starting line-up has been widely applauded, it still isn’t quite right.
That’s the belief of Fox Sports rugby analyst Rod Kafer who believes combinations are everything when it comes to Test rugby.
Speaking in his Fox Field segment on Rugby HQ, Kafer liked what he saw from the Wallabies backline in the closing stages in Auckland – a period that saw Kurtley Beale shift out to inside centre.
“What I saw in that opening Test when the Wallabies played the All Blacks here in Sydney wasn’t that level of understanding between players,” he said.
“What we had was players playing out of position. Kurtley Beale at 10, Matt Toomua at 12 … and that was the selection dilemma in the first Test.
“By the time we get to the last 20 minutes in the second Test we start to see some combination. Phipps at halfback finds his five-eighth immediately – Bernard Foley. He’s four metres from the advantage line and watch where he passes this ball, right on the advantage line. Kurtley Beale on his outside as he has been the whole time (all season) … there’s that understanding there.
“Six of the seven backs were from the Waratahs (in the final quarter in Auckland) … all of a sudden we’re flat, Bernard Foley is flat. Phipps throws a great pass, there’s a little bit of deception – Izzy Folau all of a sudden makes a break. Combinations in big Tests are so important.”
Toomua will start at No.12 in Perth on Saturday in a combination that served the Wallabies well against France. But it seems in order to get the best out of Folau, the Wallabies may need to play Beale alongside Foley as the Waratahs did throughout the Super Rugby season.
HOME GROUND? WHAT HOME GROUND?
A crowd of around 25,000 is expected at the hardly-ideal Patersons Stadium and with such a large expat South African community in Perth it’s unlikely to feel like a home game for the Wallabies.
The ARU has taken plenty of Springboks clashes to Perth over the years while the Force are also now in on the act, recruiting both players and coaching staff from the Republic.
Fiercely proud of their homeland, the expat South Africans will don Springbok jerseys en mass with the very real prospect of there being more green than gold sitting in the stands.
The Wallabies fans in Perth will hopefully have seen Fox Sports “Call of the Wallaby” which led to the establishment of “The Goldmine” supporter section in Sydney. The call to action was well supported and many Wallabies spoke of the impact it made following the 12-all draw at ANZ Stadium.
And with no AFL on in Perth this weekend, the good people of the west have no reason not to get out and support the Wallabies. Get involved!
WHAT AFFECT WILL WEATHER HAVE ON OUTCOME?
They say rain is the great leveller, and with showers forecast for Saturday in Perth that certainly suggests we should be in for a close clash.
Both sides are no strangers to wet weather of late. The Wallabies slipped and slid their way to a Sydney draw against the All Blacks last month on the same weekend that the Springboks edged past Argentina after overcoming atrocious conditions in Pretoria.
In racing parlance, the Wallabies also have wet form at the track, having edged Los Pumas in their last start at Patersons Stadium – in September 2013.
With superboot Morne Steyn installed at No.10 the Springboks look well set to cope with any adverse conditions. They’ll look to use his kicking game to play territory and back themselves at set-piece time.
Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer has already lavished praise on the “brilliant” Australian backline, but if the rain comes his side might not have to deal with too much running rugby.
WILL A REAL FORWARD PACK PLEASE STAND UP
One was rumbled by the All Blacks, the other was belted by the Pumas in a glorious rediscovery of their “Bajada”. The Wallaby and Springbok forwards are battling.
Luckily, both eights have the chance to make their respective efforts in Auckland and Salta a distant memory with a powerful display up front on Saturday.
Coaches Ewen McKenzie and Heyneke Meyer have approached Saturday night’s encounter in contrasting fashion.
The Wallabies boss spared his forwards from the selection axe despite their struggles at Eden Park, offering the likes of Wycliff Palu, Rob Simmons and Sekope Kepu a shot at redemption.
Meyer hasn’t been so forgiving. The Springboks coach has brought back Jannie du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira in the front row while dropping Jannie’s brother, Bismarck, back to the bench.
There’s also a start for veteran Victor Matfield whose experience and lineout nous provides the perfect foil for locking partner Eben Etzebeth who plays with incredible aggression.
The Springbok pack too has the knowledge of its immediate past deeds against the Wallabies – a clean sweep of the Australians in 2013 where they destroyed the men in gold at both set-piece and breakdown.
They’ve also copped plenty of criticism back home. The Wallabies must be prepared for a fired-up Bok pack.
BENCH SPLITS SIGNAL DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS
It may appear to be only a minor selection call but the Wallabies’ 6-2 and the Springboks 5-3 bench splits paint an interesting picture of what each side is expecting from Saturday night’s contest.
Badly beaten up front in both encounters last year, Ewen McKenzie is acutely aware he needs an array of forward personnel to combat an under-fire Springboks pack.
And the selection of Matt Hodgson on the bench suggests he may see an opportunity in a tiring South Africa pack inside the final quarter. A backrow trio of Michael Hooper, Matt Hodgson and Scott Higginbotham over the closing stages offers speed, durability and breakdown threat.
The Boks meanwhile have made it clear what they think of a “scary” Wallabies backline and have thus opted for the extra back on the bench.
Francois Hougaard can cover both wing and halfback while Pat Lambie is adept at either flyhalf or fullback and can also handle the kicking duties should Morne Steyn be having an off night. Damian de Allende’s inclusion also gives the visitors the chance to mix and match their centre pairing.
They’re contrasting bench splits and one may prove to be more valuable than the other late in the game – with both hoping to combat the other’s supposed strength. Yet neither coach appears confident in their own ability.
Then again, we might be just reading a little too much into the names riding the pine. Go figure.