Wenslus Murape
The Wallabies moved to Perth for their return Castle Lager Rugby Championship meeting with the Springboks wounded in every respect of the word, but despite suffering a triple injury blow during their 33-7 mauling at the hands of the Springboks, they will be a stronger side next week.
Australian media have been reporting that coach Joe Schmidt is keeping the door open for Taniela Tupou, the tighthead prop so key to many of their plans who is out of camp grieving after the death of his father. And while it was expected that he would be back in camp after the Brisbane game, at least as the team moved to Perth it seems not to be the case.
There is no doubt that the Wallabies need anything they can find to shore up their scrum after the Bok pack demolished it on Saturday, but whether Tupou alone can be that elixir is doubtful. But if he returns he will definitely bolster the side.
With no Will Skelton in the side and concussion ruling out two of their locks in Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams, both of whom have to be stood down with mandatory rest after the head knocks, Schmidt was desperately looking for options on Sunday, knowing the team would have to front up in the second test in Perth.
Add to that the fact that Filipo Daugunu suffered a broken leg, and the injury problems added headaches to Schmidt’s task of turning the team around this week.
Rebels lock Josh Canham and Force second rower Sam Carter – who last played test rugby in 2017 – both received call-ups to cover for the two locks, while Daugunu seems likely to be replaced by Marika Koroibete – a face very familiar to Springbok fans.
Koroibete was involved in several tussles with Bok winger Makazole Mapimpi in the 2022 Adelaide and Sydney tests – including a no-arms hit that should have cost him a yellow card and given the Boks a penalty try in Adelaide, which wasn’t awarded.
The way Koroibete and his teammates celebrated that moment still riles many of the Boks and there will be no love lost when he returns to face them this weekend.
Whether Tupou will be included – he flew back to Tonga on Sunday to attend his father’s funeral – and it isn’t certain when he will return to the side so he may not even come into contention.
But the Wallabies may look to veteran Angus Bell for some respite while Tom Robertson, with 24 caps to his name and who has recently returned from a year studying at Oxford, has been called into the squad as well.’
Either way the Wallabies will seize on any straw of hope this week and Schmidt will work out plans – not only to limit damage but to try and disrupt the Boks this week. Coaches often say that a return test in a series, a week after the first, is often the most difficult because opposition sides have a lot they can work on and adjust in that week.
While Schmidt may not have plans to beat the Boks in Perth, the damage limitation and showing some bravery will be off the charts in team meetings this week. That and coupled with the Boks likely to make some changes to give some more young blood a chance, may well even matter a bit more in evening out the contest.
Schmidt was honest in his assessment, saying you don’t solve the issue in a week, but wanted to see more of his side being in contests rather than the one-sided nature of Saturday’s game -SuperSport.
“That’s probably a benchmark for us. We’ve had three tests prior to that but that’s really a starting point against the really big boys,” he said after the game.
“They’re at a different stage of their evolution with so much experience and players who’ve played at the very top level for a long time and successfully.
“We have quite a youthful side and a side that is still coming together but we’ve got to come together better than we did today and accelerate some of the learning. – Reuters
Online Reporter