BRISBANE, Australia, September (ANA) – The pressure building on both the Springboks and Wallabies is likely to turn this Saturday's Rugby Championship match-up into a rather cagey affair at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
There is no doubt that the Rassie Erasmus "honeymoon" phase came to an end after the Springboks suffered a shock loss to Argentina in Mendoza recently, with the Bok coach admitting it was a performance that had left him somewhat shell-shocked.
In fairness, there have been warning signs ever since the Springboks succumbed to a season-opening defeat to Wales in Washington at the beginning of June. Although the Boks then went on to claim a commendable 2-1 series win over England, it can't be forgotten that Erasmus' team had to overturn a deficit in each of those two victories.
The Springboks also made an unconvincing start to the clash against the Pumas in their Rugby Championship opener in Durban, before eventually surging to a 34-21 victory.
However, the South African side came crashing back down to earth when they suffered a humbling 32-19 defeat in Argentina, with Erasmus admitting that there was no more room for excuses.
"When you lose, the pressure is more. Everyone always says 'we are building', but we must win and if you lose, there is pressure, no matter who you lose to. The pressure is on us to perform better and to win."
The Wallabies and coach Michael Cheika have also found themselves facing increasing pressure following back-to-back losses against the All Blacks over the first two rounds of the Rugby Championship.
Besides slipping to a 38-13 loss in Sydney, Australia were then on the receiving end of another 40-12 hiding at the hands of the imperious reigning champs, which has led to increased calls for Cheika to be fired.
Erasmus said the Boks certainly knew they would need to be prepared to face a determined and desperate Australian outfit.
"I think they are possibly in a worse position than us. They played the world champions, who gave them a proper hiding. They are desperate and that will make them dangerous.
"We are also desperate," he added. "We lost against a team we did not want to lose against. So I think it will be two teams trying to rectify the previous mistakes and them playing at home will make it tougher for us."
The end result is that both teams are likely to shelve any thoughts of embracing ambitious rugby in order to rather prioritise a "win at all costs" approach.
The Boks can be expected to turn to their forwards to produce a physically dominant performance against a largely unheralded Wallabies pack, although the hosts will be looking to David Pocock and Michael Hooper to make an impact at the breakdown.
A lot of the Wallabies' attacking strengths also lie with their influential 9-10-12 combination of Will Genia, Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale, while Israel Folau may also make a timely return from injury.
There's very little that is likely to separate these two sides by the time the final whistle sounds on Saturday, with the team that handles the pressure best set to come up trumps.
– African News Agency (ANA
