After a brutal encounter with South Africa last Saturday, the Wallabies won a torrid affair and came out on top at the end of the battle.
Saturday's game with the Springboks was not as entertaining a game as the Duneden and Sydney Tri Nations clashes this year, but it truly was a war. With the South African public putting an enormous amount of pressure on their team, the Boks were never going to give in easily, and it showed.
Defence won the game for the Wallabies, forcing errors and keeping the Boks on zero until well into the second half. Apart from the Auckland encounter this year (when everything went against them), the Wallabies defence has been rock solid.
Australia face a tough test this weekend against South Africa at altitude in Johannesburg (where they have not won since the 1960s), but this game will have no bearing on the outcome of the Tri Nations, so the Aussies can go into the game with no pressure.
They also have the Luxury of being able to blood players like Tahu at inside centre and Dean Mumm at No. 6.
South Africa, on the other hand, will have the weight of their country on their shoulders. With the media looking more like a lynch mob, the Boks will have to perform—nothing short of a win will be good enough.
The Boks coach will have his job on the line, as well as many of the players. It is a tough call on who will win at this stage.
No matter the outcome in Jo-burg, the Tri Nations will be decided in Brisbane, where the Wallabies will have a great chance to upset the over confident Kiwis. No one outside of Australia seems to rate the Wallabies, and that is just the place the Aussies like to play from.
In reality, the sides are very evenly matched, but with a home town advantage, I believe the Wallabies will upstage the more fancied All Blacks and walk away with the Tri Nations.
I believe the Wallabies have more youth and backline flair than the Kiwis. As long as the front row can perform, and the team can play as such, they should have the ability to overcome Carter and McCaw and bring home the trophy.
My only hope is we don't end up with Mark Lawrence as the referee. I would rather a Kiwi ref than Lawrence in the decider. Like Johnathan Caplan he is not up to the standard required in international rugby.
My prediction is the Boks win by three in Johannesburg, and the Wallabies win by 10 in Brisbane.
14 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete