South Africa’s vaunted bench is casting a large shadow over the Wallabies heading into Sunday’s Test in Perth.
Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche, Wilco Louw, Lood de Jager, Jasper Wiese, Morne van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Quan Horn represent a formidable array of weapons at Rassie Erasmus’ disposal.
All, apart from Horn, played a significant role in the Springboks’ recent 3-1 series win against the All Blacks.
But can it be called a “bomb squad” when it is a traditional 5-3 split of forwards and backs, as opposed to the 6-2 or 7-1 forwards-heavy variations used in the past?
Possibly not.
Halfback van den Berg is emerging as the answer to one of the few questions about this Springboks team – do they have a No.9 who is as good as the players around him? He will ignite the Test when he takes the field in Perth about 10 minutes into the second half.
Wiese, who will play his 50th Test in Perth, also ended the debate about the best No.8 in the world during the four Tests against the All Blacks. His relentless ability to carry the ball across the gain line is remarkable: as All Blacks forwards were breaking tackles, the Springboks hard man and teammates such as Eben Etzebeth and Marx kept going.
Meanwhile, the Wallabies have shown some good signs under coach Les Kiss.
The selection of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on the wing is another positive, and while that decision always looked like it was in the mail, it does represent another shift from the Joe Schmidt era, which was characterised by a sharp initial improvement in performance followed by a plateau.
But there is no doubt the Wallabies will be tested differently by the Springboks to what they experienced against Argentina and Japan, or earlier in the year during Super Rugby.
The South Africans are missed from that competition, although there are signs that the grass is not altogether greener in Europe, where they play.
The United Rugby Championship put out a press release a few days ago hailing the fact that the 2025-2026 competition “delivered the second-highest attendance in the competition’s history”, which is another way of saying attendances fell from the 2024-2025 season.
The URC also changed its practice of revealing broadcast numbers at this time of year, saying “As viewing habits have evolved, so has the way the league measures its audience. In 2025/26, URC moved to total viewing hours to incorporate linear television, streaming, URCTV and digital highlights within a broader picture of consumption.”
In my experience, if broadcast numbers are up, sports organisations let you know about it.
But even if the URC is encountering the same hurdles as most club competitions around the world, the Springboks are surging.
There is an extraordinary purpose to the way they are playing, and the fundamental challenge the Wallabies will face on Sunday is responding to how they carry the ball with such determination and defend the advantage line.
You would also assume that such ferocity comes at a cost, and the Springboks push the boundaries with their technique.
Yet, this is another area they have mastered, and it was illuminating once more to see the two-metre Pieter-Steph du Toit (who will be missing in Perth) repeatedly tackle the All Blacks hard and low, showing height is no barrier to a legal tackle technique.
There is, in fact, much the rest of the world can learn from how the Springboks go about their business, and one way or the other a knowledge-accumulator such as Kiss is going to come away from Perth with valuable information.
But, despite the Springboks’ obvious qualities, the Wallabies are a chance. Erasmus wasn’t entirely fibbing this week when he said South Africa have historically found the Wallabies awkward opponents.
In Rob Valetini, the Wallabies also possess the hard-shouldered flanker the All Blacks are still looking for, while Suaalii’s exceptional aerial ability could take away one of the Springboks’ major advantages.
It is, in fact, a mouthwatering Test in which world rankings don’t mean much.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Friday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
Paul Cully is a rugby columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners
About the Author
