Wallabies players believe superior fitness was the catalyst for their come-from-behind Rugby Championship win over South Africa on Saturday, as pressure mounts on new Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer.
The former Bulls supremo is just three wins from his first six Tests as national coach following the 26-19 defeat to Australia in Perth and now has several worries heading into next week’s clash with Championship leaders New Zealand in Dunedin.
Speedster Bryan Habana (ankle) and experienced prop Jannie du Plessis (hamstring) are both in doubt to face the All Blacks, while lock Eben Etzebeth has been cited for head butting opposite Nathan Sharpe in a first-half altercation.
Meyer blamed inexperience for the second-half collapse, however it’s clear he has a long-term plan in mind because it’s been his decision to blood the youth.
The respected coach was particularly critical of the discipline of his players – with prop Tendai Mtawarira also yellow carded in a crucial moment towards the end of the first half.
Mtawarira’s sin-binning cost the Springboks the chance to make a push to put the result beyond doubt before the break as the scoreboard froze at 13-6 while ‘The Beast’ was off the field.
“It takes a lot out of you especially with the travel,” he said.
“The whole shape of the game changed because we were on the attack and suddenly you’re one person short.
“I’ve said to the players a few times, away from home they have to learn discipline, no soft moments.”
There’s a feeling in South Africa that Meyer is panicking by rushing players he believes will be stars of the future into the team.
No.8 Duane Vermeulen and young five-eighth Johan Goosen debuted against Australia despite recently returning from injury.
Vermeulen struggled to get into the game, while Goosen was thrown into the action at the death for the experienced Morne Steyn, despite the game being on the line.
Captain Jean de Villiers said Wallabies veteran Sharpe “had more caps than our whole pack just about,” and admitted the team needs time.
However, he’s confident the Springboks are on the improve.
“I don’t think that we can suddenly expect to be the greatest team in the world and just click and play fantastic rugby. We need to learn from the experiences, we need to grow as a team and that takes some time,” he said.
“We want to be winning every single game that we play and those pressures from the media, from the fans, we feel them at times.
“It’s a young team but it’s Test match rugby and you don’t have a lot of time to grow at this level. We need to quickly rectify those mistakes.”
