What gives Wallabies ‘confidence’ before Brisbane clash with Springboks

The odds appear to be stacked against the Wallabies before this weekend’s Rugby Championship clash with the Springboks but there’s no point telling them that as they carry some “confidence” going into the Test.

South Africa are the two-time defending men’s Rugby World Cup champions while Australia have their third head coach in as many years. The visitors will go into Saturday afternoon’s clash at favourites but there’s no merit in writing Australia off completely.

The Wallabies have made Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium a fortress over the last decade or so. South Africa haven’t beaten Australia at the River City venue since 2013, with the hosts winning the last four on the bounce – including a 30-17 scoreline three years ago.

But that’s in the past. This weekend, there will be about 50,000 supporters watching at Suncorp as many of the Springboks’ dual World Cup champions take on a Wallabies team full of players from a golden generation of talent.

It’s that home crowd advantage that may give the Wallabies a bit of an edge in that regard against the four-time world champions, but it’s no secret the players will need to be at their very best if they’re to continue their history of dominance in Brisbane.

“I think one of the things that gives us confidence is that we’re not guided by the belief that’s external but it’s fantastic to have the support, even around the city,” head coach Joe Schmidt told reporters on Thursday.

“Walking back from a function yesterday, people in the street saying, 'Good luck, good luck on Saturday.’

“I haven’t spent a huge amount of time in the rugby community here but there seems to be a real support going into the weekend which is, it’s sort of swings both ways for us. There’s an expectation that we have to try to live up to but there’s a support that we want to keep earning.

“With regard to that, I think we’ve got to make sure that we match up at set-piece because whatever you do against South Africa, you’ve got to be able to match up at set-piece because that’s where the whole thing starts.

“They really stressed Ireland going side to side. The width of their attack, and I think with Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) being preferred over Handre (Pollard), he’s going to bring some tempo. Whether it’s Cobus (Reinach) or Grant Williams, they’ve got incredibly quick nines.

“Even around those fringes and then the edges, a lot of what they bring we’re going to have to be ready to match up for.

“Then on our side, we just have to make sure that we’re really accurate. A quarter of the tries that they’ve scored over the last year have been from turnover and if you give them that oxygen and allow them to breathe on the edges of through in behind you… it is quite intimidating if you consider their personal but at the same time, it’s never just individuals who can win you a game.

“We’ve got to collectively build a Wallabies team, squad and belief, and hopefully there can be a little bit of a look at that on Saturday.”

For the first time since the Wallabies’ historic clash with the British & Irish Lions in 2013, Rugby Australia has confirmed that this weekend’s Test against the Boks has sold out. In itself, it’s an achievement to celebrate in the early stages of the Joe Schmidt era.

The Wallabies have a history of success in Queensland’s capital including the previously mentioned Tests against the Boks and some famous Bledisloe Cup clashes with arch-rivals the All Blacks in years gone by.

There isn’t a team in international rugby who has consistently found it easy to beat the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium as Schmidt experienced during a decorated coaching career with an Ireland side that transformed into one of the world’s best.

“I toured here coaching Ireland in 2018 and we won two out of three but the one out of three that we didn’t was here at Suncorp,” Schmidt explained.

“I’m not sure whether there’s any mystic in the ground… being a bit of a pragmatist, I think when the whistle goes, I don’t think I’ll be asking Cobus Reinach if he’s interested in any history.

“They’re all about creating their future and every time a player goes out, they’re trying to create the immediate future. They’re not worried about what happens in the second half, they have to get what’s right, right in front of them.

“I’m not sure if that’ll affect the players but it’s a nice bit of history to have on your side and the nicest thing about it is the support and I’d love to see a lot of that support in gold pretty vocal in getting behind the team.

“While it might not change the bounce of the ball, it can affect the strength and belief and the motivation and the willingness to fight for the inches that matter.”