Springboks to face Wallabies in unfamiliar territory

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South Africa are preparing to break new ground when they play Australia in round three of the Rugby Championship in the city of Adelaide for the very first time.

Both sides incurred losses in round two after starting the tournament in a promising fashion.

The Springboks are wary of the threat of the Wallabies and are also treading carefully in the unfamiliar surroundings of South Australia. They are preparing for a Wallaby team that beat Argentina in the first round of the Rugby Championship and then suffered a heavy defeat to Los Pumas in the very next round.

The Wallabies are back on home turf against the Boks, where they have a very good win record since 1998. The Boks have only beaten the Wallabies 4 times Down Under.

South African franchises also haven’t played Australian teams for the last two years, so South Africa’s intel on what Australia have been up to is not based on first-hand information.

And with a player like Warrick Gelant preparing to take on an unfamiliar foe in an unfamiliar position, that of right-wing rather than his favoured fullback, the plot thickens.

Springbok Wing, Warrick Gelant says Australia poses a different threat. “I think the Wallabies are going to pose a different threat. I think they are a quality side and what makes it even more difficult is the fact that we haven’t played them in Super Rugby for the last few years. So we haven’t experienced how the Australian teams are playing this season so they will be a threat within themselves but we can only focus on ourselves. I think we are also a threat I feel like we are in a good space at the moment and the way we as backline players are gelling at the moment. I think it is going to be an exciting game this Saturday.”

The Springboks are also getting ready to play Australia in the distinctly non-rugby union city of Adelaide.

In Adelaide, it’s all about Aussies Rules and Rugby League, with Rugby union taking a back seat, and perhaps that is why the Boks are scheduled to play at an unfamiliar time in the afternoon, with kick-off at 7:30 am South African time.

For assistant coach Deon Davids, it is his first time in Adelaide, so it has been and will continue to be a week of firsts for himself and the Green and Gold.

Springbok Assistant Coach, Deon Davids says “It is the first time we play here. Currently, we have experienced different weather conditions we experienced some rain today and also some sunshine so as a team we will just have to adapt in terms of what the conditions will be on the day. We try in our training sessions to simulate and understand different challenges that might come our way and whether we play at three o’clock in the afternoon or half past six or seven in the evening. It is just something that we will have to adapt to and deal with the situation on the day.”

The Boks are also coming off a loss against the All Blacks, where they were heavily fancied to win. The pressure is certainly on, as they go hunting for a win in round three of the Rugby Championship.