Key events
TRY! South Africa 10-5 Australia (Arendse, 16)
That’s seven tries seven games for the nippy winger. It started on the other wing with Moddie stepping off his right foot to create space. The ball moves down the line but it’s not exactly clean. Still, the Boks have numbers and a short pass from Esterhuizen finds Arendse without anyone in front of him. He simply has to catch, take a few steps and dot down.
Libbok slots the conversion.
15 mins: Am does well to wriggle out of a tight space. Libbok floats one wide to Arendse before Orie burrows down. Le Roux pops up in the line. Van Staden straightens and makes metres. Better from the Boks.
Penalty! South Africa 3-5 Australia (Libbok, 13)
No problems from the 22. Libbok gets his team on the board.
12 mins: Libbok will line this up from bang in front. Surely he won’t miss from here.
12 mins: The Boks monster that scrum and move the ball down the line but it gets messy quickly. Not sharp enough in the back there. Reinach tidies up and le Roux sends it down the open side. There’s a penalty call. Offside from earlier.
9 mins: White knocks on after the restart so South Africa have the feed to the first scrum just outside the 22. They need a response here.
TRY! South Africa 0-5 Australia (Koroibete, 8)
First blood to the Aussies! Koroibete dots down his sixth score against South Africa. Kleyn stole the line-out but the knock down is snaffled by Alaalatoa. It moves down the line with Ikitau showing swift hands. It finds its way to the speedy winger who burns down the flank. Slick.
7 mins: My mistake. Australia ball. It goes to the middle but they kick immediately. Le Roux returns the favour and we’re back where we started at halfway. Bit of a stodgy opening here.
6 mins: Tight exchanges end with the Boks kicking from the back field. A strong chase from Esterhuizen puts pressure on Wright. Boks ball from the line-out just inside Australia’s half.
4 mins: Le Roux chips straight out so Australia have the ball inside SA territory. But they’re wasteful off the boot and Le Roux can field the mark. He reads the space so well.
3 mins: Libbok misses the penalty. Doesn’t have the legs from just inside the half way line. That won’t help his confidence.
2 mins: Libbok skews one off his boot. Aussie line-out on halfway line. Valetini carries well through the middle. But Van Staden steals the ball and wins a penalty. Slick from the Boks back rower.
PEEEEEEP! Cooper kicks off. Boks in green. Wallabies in gold. Le Roux clears from his 22 into Auxtralian territory.
The anthems are done. The Zulu dancers have finished brandishing their spears (really) and we’re ready to go!
You’d have to be pretty brave to don a golden jumper in Pretoria today.
The storm is gathering! I don’t mean the clouds in Leeds that have halted the cricket. I mean a cacophony of noise and chaos that is a packed Loftus. I’ve been there when the Boks are in town and let me tell you, there aren’t many rugby grounds in the world that are as hostile to the opposition. The Wallabies will be entering a cauldron.
Eddie Jones (far left) in his favourite spot. Watching opponents like a hawk. Aus players all in sheds ready to head out. Crowd is rocking 🇦🇺🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/Orb2chpAr2
— Tom Decent (@tomdecent) July 8, 2023
Fancy a bit of prematch reading? Gerard Meagher has been busy with the England team as they look to distance themselves from Jones, contemplate a Bazball ethos and find room for one of the most destructive runners in the game:
The Wallabies have never won at Loftus. If Eddie Jones wants to start his tenure on a positive note he’ll have to do something that no Australian coach has done before.
In seven previous meetings here, the Boks have won all of them. Their most recent clash was was in 2016 and settled by a 18-10 scoreline. Four years before that the Boks routed the Aussies 31-8 and two years before that it was a high scoring affair that the South Africans claimed 44-31.
In 2005 it was 22-16 but 2001 was much tighter. South Africa pipped that 20-15.
The largest deficit came in the 1997 Tri-nations with Gary Teichman’s team hammering the Wallabies 61-22. Back in 1963 South Africa won by a score of 14-3.
Does any of that matter today? We’ll soon find out.
Want to sing along with the anthems? Well, if that’s your thing, here are the words:
What does this match mean to Springboks and Wallabies fans? It’s a question I’ve been wondering for some time. As a South African myself (we’re all friends here, no need for secrets and I promise to be unbiased) I always had great respect for Australian rugby. I grew up on Gregan, Larkham, Eales and Burke. I loved to hate them.
Has this rivalry dissipated? Can it ever rediscover it’s spark? I penned a little something last year that I think is still relevant. So, if you fancy…
Eddie’s first side is bursting with potential
I’m not saying the Wallabies are going to win the World Cup. But I tell you what, with this team, with Eddie Jones at the wheel, and with a favourable draw placing them on the easier road to the final, well, stranger things have happened, right?
First they need to prove they can mix it with the big boys and the Boks are as big as they come. Captains Hooper and Slipper (there are two skippers, don’t ask me why) add nous to a pack bolstered by the heft of Alaalatoa and Skelton. Cooper has a slick backline to work with and watch out for Kerevi off the bench.
Talk is cheap. Eddie, a master of the gab, knows this. Here is where he’ll earn his wedge.
Wallabies: Wright; Vunivalu, Ikitau, Hodge, Koroibete; Cooper, White; Slipper (c), Porecki, Aalalatoa, Frost, Skelton, T Hooper, M Hooper (c), Valetini.
Substitutes: Uelese, Gibbon, Nonggorr, Arnold, Samu, McDermott, Kerevi, Gordan.
New-look Boks out to increase depth
There may be a few names unfamiliar to the casual fan with a few first stringers send to New Zealand prematurely, but this is still a formidable match-day 23.
For starters, that backline is tantalising. Libbok at 10 has been a revelation for the Stormers and Am is perhgaps the most creative 13 on the planet (if he’s fully fit). Le Roux will control things in the back field as zippy wingers provide pace out wide.
Orie and Kleyn were two of the top tacklers in the URC but Test rugby is a step up. One change to the team you’ll see on Twitter. Nche misses out and is replaced by Kitshoff in the front row. The Boks, as usual, go with a 6-2 split on the bench.
Springboks: Le Roux; Moodie, Am, Esterhuizen, Arendse; Reinach, Libbok; Kitshoff, Bnomambi, Malherbe, Kleyn, Orie, Van Staden, PS du Toit, Vermeulen (c)
Substitutes: Dweba, T du Toit, Koch, Snyman, Roos, Fourie, Williams, Willemse.
Preamble
Daniel Gallan
Oh yes. Now it begins. There are 61 days to go until the World Cup in France but today feels like the first day we can crack open the advent calendar. Look behind the cardboard door and what’s behind? Only a clash between Eddie Jones’ Wallabies and a Springboks outfit with a point to prove.
Eddie’s named arguably the most impressive Australian 23 for a decade. There are four debutants – Tom Hooper in the back row along with Zane Nonggorr, Richie Arnold and Carter Gordan on the bench. But all eyes – at least the two in my head – will be fixed on Will Skelton in the second row. He’s been immense for La Rochelle and is now firmly fixed back where he belongs at the heart of the Wallabies pack.
I can’t wait to see how he gets on against a Springbok lock duo that needs a proper test. Marvin Orie has the faith of the Springboks coaching staff but the jury is still out as far as he’s concerned. He’s partnered by Jean Kleyn who has Test expereince, but that was with Ireland. He makes his first appearance for South Africa today.
There are plenty of other talking points across the pitch. The young hotshot wearing 10 for the Boks, Manie Libbok, goes up against the veteran Quade Cooper. Lukhanyo Am returns to midfield for the world champions and Marika Koroibete will be keen to show he’s still one of the most dangerous wingers on the planet after missing the tour of Europe.
I’m buzzing for this. The Boks are in a spanking new kit and the Wallabies will be pretty in gold. This is one of the iconic fixtures in our sport and it’s taking place in one of the game’s fortresses. Loftus will be rocking and filled with the smell and smoke of a thousand braais. It doesn’t get any better than this.
Kick off at 4:05pm BST/ 5.05pm SAST/1.05am AEST.
