Wallabies bracing for Springboks backlash after South Africa’s record loss to the All Blacks

SOUTH Africa were humiliated by the All Blacks last week and their fans didn’t hide their disgust. Now the Wallabies find themselves entering the eye of a Springboks storm.

South Africa after the loss to New Zealand.

THE Wallabies are bracing for the impact of Hurricane Springbok in South Africa next week as they prepare to fly into a country still reeling from a 57-0 drubbing delivered by the All Blacks last weekend in New Zealand.

Michael Cheika’s men depart for Johannesburg on Saturday on the first leg of their two-stop tour of Africa and Argentina.

The Springboks suffered a record defeat at the hands of New Zealand last start and the recriminations in South Africa have been bitter.

Former Boks coach Nick Mallett said “criticising this Bok team is like clubbing a baby seal” but social media trolls have given the club a good swing regardless.

South Africa after the loss to New Zealand.

It got so personal South Africa captain Eben Etzebeth this week called on people to lay off their loved ones.

“I can understand people being upset with us. They’re allowed to be, but keep our families out of it,” Etzebeth said.

“There are some terrible people out there, saying some nasty things to our wives and girlfriends, and that’s not nice to hear.”

It could suggest a Bok outfit in turmoil but perhaps more than any other team in world rugby, the Wallabies know only too well the All Blacks’ drubbing doesn’t make the Springboks vulnerable, but exactly opposite: it makes them highly dangerous.

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Only last month the Wallabies were belted 54-34 by New Zealand in Sydney but after motivated by a torrent of heavy criticism, the Australian side almost beat New Zealand in Dunedin a week later.

After two weeks stewing on their 57-point defeat, the Springboks will be a formidable foe on home soil in Bloemfontein, according to Wallabies halfback Nick Phipps.

“It’s not lost on any of us is they’ll be coming out guns blazing,” Phipps said.

“We have played Kiwi teams enough to know a game can easily get out of hand. We won’t be reading too much into that game. They’re a lot better team than what they showed that day. We have been on the end of a few of them before.

“Playing in South Africa is a different sort of beast, they grow another leg. And we know they’re under the pump over there. They’d be looking to turn it around.”

Phipps said the week after a bad loss is a time where teams galvanise.

“There is certainly a heightened sense of awareness about the performance,” Phipps said.

“You know there is a lot of talk about your performance and a lot of people are disappointed. The players are disappointed and the coaching staff would be livid as well, so it’ll be a big week or two for them.

“Being back home will give them a great boost. There is nothing better than playing on home soil.”

The Wallabies will look back beyond the All Blacks game to their last clash with the Boks in Perth, when they gave up a 10-point lead and drew 23-all.

Australia is feeling confident after their strongest performance of the year.

“I don’t think we can read too much into that New Zealand game. Sometimes you just come up against that perfect storm over there and there’s not a lot you can do. We’ll be looking at that Perth game and how we let that win slip away from us at the back end of the game, that’s our focus,” Phipps said.

Starting with far more urgency will also be a focus for the Wallabies, said Phipps.

The Wallabies were sluggish in the first half against Argentina in Canberra before finishing strongly with five tries in the second half against a tiring Pumas team. Against a pumped-up Boks team in Bloemfontein, the Wallabies won’t have the luxury of starting slow again.

“It seems to be the story of our year,” Phipps said.

“It’s not that the effort wasn’t there, it was just the intensity wasn’t at the level required. We pride ourselves on playing smart and fast and that was just lacking a bit. If anything we were lucky we got away with it and scores stayed pretty close. Second half was much better but we have to be firing right from the start.”