It might sound obvious, but stand-in Wallabies skipper James Slipper says making a fast start against the Springboks holds the key to victory on Saturday at Adelaide Oval (3:30pm AEST).
In the five Tests in 2022, the Wallabies have conceded first points on every occasion.
It’s a theme that has haunted the Wallabies since Dave Rennie took over as coach in 2020 and reversing that trend is paramount to their chances of winning the Rugby Championship.
In their most recent tour of Argentina, the Wallabies conceded the opening try on both occasions.
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The 14-0 lead they coughed up early in San Juan, where they were smashed by a record 48-17 margin by Michael Cheika’s Los Pumas, set the tone for the horror show that followed.
For months the Wallabies have been trying to find the answer for their slow starts and Slipper who, in the absence of Michael Hooper, will be captain for the first time on Australian soil, says the issue has been addressed this week.
“That’s a really good question and, if I knew the answer to that, I guess I’d be the head coach,” he said. “But I think it’s the way we train, the way we prepare. Preparation is everything when you come into a Test match, and I think out of all five tests we’ve played so far this year we’ve lost the first 25 minutes in each game.
“It’s been definitely spoken about the start of the game, and hopefully we can put South Africa under a bit of heat early.”
While the Wallabies scored the first try in Sydney during their four-point series deciding loss to England last month, which is the only Test they have scored the opening try this year, two chances were blown.
The first came when Reece Hodge, who returns to the No.15 jersey for the first time since his SCG start, found the touch line instead of his winger.
The next came when Taniela Tupou found Nick Frost’s knees with the tryline open.
Slipper said turning chances into points was essential.
“It comes down to creating opportunities and then taking them,” he said.
“We’re a team that, especially in these last five games, we’ve created a lot but probably haven’t had the polish to put them away or take points when they’re on offer. For us at training, it’s been a big emphasis to take those opportunities.”
It sounds simple enough, but when the Springboks bring on their “bomb squad” around half-time, the Wallabies can’t afford to be behind.
Under Rennie, the Wallabies have trailed at half-time in 16 of his 25 Tests. When trailing, they have only twice been able to overturn that deficit. The last time they led at half-time was against Japan last October, nine Tests ago.
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Helping the Wallabies’ chances is the seamless preparation they have had heading into the crunch Test. From the withdrawal of Hooper to Quade Cooper’s season-ending injury in Argentina, to two concussions in training to the side’s two first-choice hookers, the Wallabies’ tour of South America was a disaster.
“That Argentinian tour was one of the toughest I’ve been on” he said. “We had plenty of blokes drop out of the team after it had been named. We had our captain leave the group. So there was a fair bit of adversity but from adversity, you grow stronger and that’s where I’ve pushed the team.
“We get challenged every day, so it’s about turning up every day and trying to get better.
“In terms of this preparation it has been great. We’ve worked hard. We go into the game with confidence and that’s all I can ask for the boys and make sure that we do the jersey proud.”
Making Saturday’s Test all the more important is that precious silverware is on the line.
“The Rugby championship’s pretty even at the moment, everyone’s had one win,” Rennie said. “So (a) chance to stay in the fight and we get a trophy at the end of it.
“We’ve had an excellent week of preparation and pretty brutal review and a fair bit of honesty and an excellent reaction. We need to see that on Saturday.”
