It is over a year since the Wallabies smashed their 62-year Ellis Park hoodoo, finally beating the Springboks at their Johannesburg fortress.
But on a quiet beach in Perth ahead of Sunday’s clash against the same opponents, James O’Connor is instantly transported back to the 18th minute of that memorable Test last year. The Wallabies have just gone 22-0 down, and the roar of the capacity crowd is ringing in his ears.
Under the posts after the Springboks have just scored a third unanswered try is a lonely place at the best of times, but when you are the starting playmaker for their opponents, the Ellis Park grandstands seem to amplify the din.
The crumbling old stadium is 1,753 metres above sea level, an altitude that makes your lungs burn while 60,000 passionate Springbok fans roar their team on. A homemade sign in the grandstand just behind where O’Connor and his teammates huddled bears an ominous message: Wallaby BBQ starts at kickoff.
“I’m under the posts thinking, ‘They’ve come out firing’; they really have, but also I feel they’re only playing off our mistakes and the mistakes they’ve made could have been line breaks and possibly tries for us,” O’Connor said.
“After the third try, I could feel I was starting to lose a few guys. But I knew I still had the Reds boys who trust me because we’ve had big comebacks with them before and other guys I’ve played with.
“But there were guys on the team I hadn’t played with before, so they’re just like, ‘We’re down three tries here and we’re getting pumped’. But then finally we fired a nice little jab and it landed. I knew that we had that belief back again.”
O’Connor found space and drew two tacklers before popping the ball up for centre Len Ikitau, who sent winger Dylan Pietsch through for the Wallabies’ first try just before half-time.
The score was 22-5 at the interval, with the Wallabies’ sole score appearing a mere consolation. But O’Connor and his teammates had finally worked out how to exploit the Springboks’ rapid defensive line speed by drawing defenders and opening up space.
After the break, the Wallabies scored the next two tries, through Harry Wilson, thanks to a delayed pass from prop Angus Bell, and then Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii after a brilliant interception. Confidence spread quickly throughout the team, on the back of a quick week of preparation in South Africa after a memorable victory over the British and Irish Lions in the third Test.
O’Connor knew he needed to take risks in attack with long passes, but also had to be willing to take physical punishment, standing flat at the line with his ribs exposed, to allow his teammates to shine.
“My body’s changed,” O’Connor said. “I can handle a hit now, but to be honest, when I was younger, I couldn’t. It hurts, but it doesn’t hurt to the point that it’s going to stop me from playing and I know all it takes is one margin.
“It’s like being against a bull. If they hit you too hard, one, they might hit you late, so there’s foul play.
“Or two, they’ve taken themselves out of the game because for them to hit me hard enough to take me to the floor, they have to leave their feet. So then they’re out of the game for a phase.”
Wilson’s second try put the Wallabies ahead for the first time in the match, 24-22, and O’Connor watched as space began to open up across the field. Two more tries followed thanks to individual brilliance from Max Jorgensen and Tom Wright, and a famous victory was secured.
O’Connor, who was playing his first Test in three years after a spell in the international wilderness, savoured every moment.
“One of my favourite films is Hook with Robin Williams,” O’Connor said. “In the film, there’s this great quote about finding a true and worthy opponent that kept going through my head.
“The greatest games you remember are when you play an opponent who is like equal, if not better than you, and you just go toe to toe with them.
“They’re ahead in the game, then you’re ahead in the game. You’re feeling each other out. It’s brutal, it’s physical, but also there’s a flow to it.
“It’s the beautiful game of rugby, the game you play in heaven. When you play a team that is a true and worthy opponent of you, and you come out on top, there’s absolutely no better feeling.”
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