Cape Town - The Springboks and the Wallabies have a good understanding of each other and the current space and mindset they occupy, with both teams coming off recent defeats in the Championship.
Argentina top the standings after recording their biggest win against Australia, thrashing them 48-17 in San Juan last weekend.
The Boks, meanwhile, were touted as favourites against the All Blacks at Ellis Park, only to come unstuck 35-22.
The Boks are now getting ready for their first meeting against Australia in Adelaide on Saturday, and just like the Aussies they, too, know how dangerous Los Pumas can be, especially at home.
It’s for that reason that Bok coach Jacques Nienaber says they can relate to Dave Rennie’s men. After all, the South Africans suffered their biggest defeat to Argentina in 2018, when they lost 32-19 in Mendoza.
But, for now, it’s not the South Americans the Boks have to worry about.
Nienaber and his charges know that the Aussies will be going into their clash this weekend on the same mission as the Boks.
Speaking to the media after naming his team, which features only two changes to the starting XV and three on the bench from the squad that lost in Joburg, Nienaber said one of the biggest let-downs from their game against the All Blacks was them not closing the game out, despite the visitors being one man down and the Boks leading 23-21 in the final 10 minutes.
“I think in 2018 we probably had one of our biggest losses against Argentina in Argentina, we know how tough it is to win there, so we can relate with Australia. They can make it tough for you,” Nienaber said.
“Obviously, we were disappointed with the (New Zealand) loss, I don’t think a lot of teams in history had the opportunity to go back-to-back against the All Blacks.
“The disappointing part is that we could have closed that game out better. We’re not blaming the players; there were some naive decisions from us as coaches, and we’ll keep looking at that.
“Australia are pretty much in the same boat as us, we both want to bounce back.”
With the Boks usually announcing their team on the Tuesday of Test week, Nienaber explained that naming the side one day earlier gives them additional time to settle before game day.
He also added that their travel situation granted them an extra day.
The Boks’ original flight from Johannesburg to Sydney was cancelled last Thursday night, but the squad departed for Australia at midday on Friday.
The Boks arrived in Sydney early on Saturday morning and then made the short trip to Adelaide.
“It’s probably weird announcing the team this early. But our flight was delayed and we actually got an extra day. We announced the team to the players on Sunday and we know when we do that it will probably come out within a day or two.
“Also, when people attend training sessions, they can get a good idea (of the make-up of the team).
So, there was no reason to keep the team back. It’s probably going to come out anyway.”
When asked if he thinks the early Bok team announcement could favour the opposition, Nienaber responded: “I don’t know, that’s probably something you’ll have to ask the opposition. But we have a pretty good idea of the team that’s going to play for Australia.
“There might be one or two positions we wonder about. In terms of our (early) announcement, I don’t know if it will benefit Australia, but it’s better for us to announce it and let our team settle before the game.”
@WynonaLouw