RUGBY NEWS - It hasn’t always been the case but this time around it appears the familiarity with Australian and New Zealand opposition picked up through playing them in Super Rugby has inspired some confidence for the Springboks ahead of their Rugby Championship tour of Australasia.
Although the Wallabies were outstanding in their recent narrow defeat to the All Blacks, the 9 September clash with the Australians in Perth will carry less gravitas than the one the following week against the Kiwis in Albany.
The 50 point drubbing they received at the hands of New Zealand at Kings Park was one of the low points of a poor 2016 and it is important that the Boks regain some of their self-respect in the eyes of the traditional enemy by at least being competitive.
But the way Bok skipper Eben Etzebeth spoke after returning to South Africa from Argentina this week, it appears the Boks are being encouraged to dwell on more recent memories rather than the Durban debacle.
It did not go that well for South African teams in Super Rugby this year, but they did have the wood over Australian teams and the Lions, who provide the core of the Bok starting team this time around, beat the Hurricanes and were close losers when down to 14 men against the Crusaders in the Super Rugby final.
