'We're not Wales': What ex-Springbok expects from Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies

South Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup hero Joel Stransky expects Australia to struggle in The Rugby Championship when they come up “against the big sides.”

There’s a bit of a buzz about Australian rugby at the moment. With the horrors and disappointment of last year’s Rugby World Cup now left firmly in the past, the Wallabies have ushered in a new era with a run of confidence-building wins.

New Zealand-born head coach Joe Schmidt has found success in the role with the Wallabies with the men in gold winning all three of their Tests this year. Australia beat Wales in Sydney and Melbourne before surviving a bit of a scare against Georgia last month.

Australia’s run of four wins on the bounce – dating back to last year’s win over Portugal in the World Cup pool stages – is the longest active winning run out of any men’s tier-one side. It’s an impressive feat but they’ll need to be at their best if they’re to keep that going.

The two-time defending men’s Rugby World Cup champion Springboks will run out onto the field at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium in front of about 50,000 fans this Saturday afternoon. They’ll be looking to win a venue they haven’t found success at in more than a decade.

Joe Stransky wouldn’t go as far as to say that South Africa will definitely win The Rugby Championship’s opening fixture, but the former Springboks flyhalf did tip Australia to struggle as they continue their rebuild.

“It’s interesting. If you look at all, maybe less so Argentina… Australia probably came off the lowest base, to be quite fair. Let’s be honest. They were definitely the weaker of the three sides and they struggled and they were poor at the World Cup,” Stransky said on SENZ’s Scotty & Izzy.

“For (Schmidt) to build by 40 per cent is a lot easier than it is for New Zealand or South Africa to grow by 40 per cent. I think that first step, the Aussies have done well.

“I’m not sure that when it gets really tough against the big sides – we’re not Wales. New Zealand aren’t Wales. I think they’ll find it a little bit tougher against New Zealand and against, and in particular against the Boks.

“I’m not saying we’re going to win… we’re not good travellers to Australia at the moment for some unknown reason but hopefully that changes. It has to change at some point.”

The Springboks haven’t beaten the Wallabies at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium since 2013. That’s a fairly long drought for the international rugby heavyweights who have gone on to claim two World Cup crowns in the years since.

But there’s something about this team.

Rassie Erasmus has picked a matchday 23 that certainly means business. South Africa last won The Rugby Championship in 2019, and their last triumph in the southern hemisphere was in the 2009 Tri-Nations before that, but they appear eager to reclaim the crown.

The selection of youngster Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu at flyhalf has shocked many within the rugby community, but there’s no doubt this team is world-class. Siya Kolisi will captain a side that includes Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cheslin Kolbe.

Prop Ox Nche deserves a mention on his own. The set-piece battle will be fierce.

South Africa are the reigning men’s Rugby World Cup champions and they’ll want to back that up in The Rugby Championship, which starts with this intriguing clash Down Under. This is the first step in what they hope is their journey to yet another prized piece of silverware.

“There is confidence. Rassie has proven himself to be this genius coach… for the best part, he’s done sensationally well,” Stransky explained.

“What he’s done so well is the age in the team, the number of caps. He’s nurtured players, he’s brought in the young guys, bred them for six months, eight months, 18 months.

“We’ve seen the likes of Damian Willemse come through – from a young player who sat on the bench, was in the squad… into the starting role at fullback.

“I think what (Erasmus) does well, so well, is he understands what game he wants to play, what type of player he needs, how they need to be bred into the system, and he has a plan… I think he has a plan that’s five, six years in advance.

“He’s always got one eye just looking ahead to what’s next, what’s over the horizon (and) how do we prepare for that?

“To see a guy like Elrigh Louw coming into the system 18 months ago, now he’s starting.  Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, now starting even as a young guy. It’s wonderful, it’s really wonderful.

“A couple of these young guys have come through and really proven themselves.”