The best gift the Wallabies can give their supporters is another win, proving they can deliver the goods for more than one Saturday in a row.
They have a rare opportunity in Sydney this weekend, when the new Allianz Stadium hosts a near-sell out crowd for the second Test against South Africa in one of Australia’s rugby heartlands.
It is a big stage begging for a big game. South Africa, much like the Wallabies after their San Juan fiasco, will have a score to settle on the thick-cut turf only recently laid at the $830 million Moore Park venue.
Australia will arrive in Sydney towards the end of the week standing tall after a clinical and clever 60 minutes at Adelaide Oval. They spoiled the Springboks party in almost every aspect of the game, building a 25-3 buffer that withstood the visitors’ 14-point fightback in the final quarter. They restored pride and delivered a performance offering moments of individual brilliance and collective triumph. It was a good ’un.
Still, let’s hope Dave Rennie was true to his word and kept the celebrations to a “couple of quiet ones” in the sheds on Saturday night.
The Wallabies have gone back-to-back only once under Rennie, a fact that tells us it is both within the capabilities of this group and tough to pull off.
In a COVID-affected Rugby Championship, they beat South Africa and Argentina twice each at home last year, on the way to the side’s first five-game winning streak since the 2015 World Cup. Instead of wilting under the heat of a Springboks revenge blitz in the return clash, the Wallabies went to the next level, winning by an even larger margin with a performance that would still stand – next to Saturday’s – as their most complete.
Australia’s tryscorers Fraser McReight and Marika Koroibete savour a win.Credit:Getty
It is possible. The quality of Saturday’s win tells us this team has the smarts as well as the oft-sighted character to win much more often than they have done. The return of experienced campaigners such as Allan Alaalatoa, Folau Fainga’a, Matt Philip, Dave Porecki, Reece Hodge and Hunter Paisami made a big difference. As did a couple of brutal review sessions and the undisclosed tweaks Rennie’s staff made to the side’s preparations. They scored within the first few minutes and led at half-time, only the second time in 10 Tests they’ve done so.
And of course, there was Australia’s ‘Marika moment’, the Fijian born winger’s tone-setting rocket launch (with arms) into Makazole Mapimpi to save a certain try for the Springboks just before half-time.
The Wallabies need more of those moments and more players willing to deliver them. A carry, turnover or tackle to deliver a ripple of electricity through the team. “It’s on”. Too often this season they have watched opposition teams benefit from those acts. Koroibete’s tackle and James Slipper’s scrum penalty in the second half were the stand-out examples. The beauty of Saturday’s win was there were many smaller moments of individual accountability that added up to that win.
The Springboks’ two late tries would have given Rennie a good hook for keeping the celebrations low-key. The Wallabies scored their last points in the 64th minute and struggled when South Africa’s tall timber started taking the ball into space.
“We talked about respect being earned daily, so we have to back this up,” Rennie said. “What we know is the South Africans are a hell of a side and they’re going to be tougher next week as well. We’re going to have to take our game to another level. We showed a lot of character in the first game in Mendoza, we didn’t back that up, so if we genuinely want people to get behind us, we’ve got to front every week. I think if you front and empty out the tank for each other, whether you win or lose, people will respect that.”
