BRISBANE – South Africa lost to Argentina for just the third time in history a fortnight ago, but Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus believes the Wallabies are in a ‘worse position’ than his side after two heavy defeats to the All Blacks.
Saturday’s Brisbane Test is a must-win for both the Springboks and Wallabies after losses in the second round of the Rugby Championship.
The Springboks kicked off their campaign with a win in Durban, but were shocked by the Pumas in Mendoza on August 25.
Erasmus described that defeat as an 'embarrassing' one for his team, but said the Wallabies were arguably in a bigger hole than the Africans heading into Saturday's clash.
“Australia are very much, maybe in a worse position than we are with the two games they have had,” he told SuperSport.
“They played the world champions and they gave them a proper hiding and that will make them dangerous. They are desperate, but we are desperate as well.
“We lost against a team who we didn’t want to lose again so I think it will be two teams trying their best to rectify the previous weeks’ mistakes and with them playing at home will just make it tougher for us.
“We are ready and up for the challenge and we know the only way to get last week’s result out of our heads is to win.”
The Aussies are desperate, but we are desperate as well, according to Rassie Erasmus. Photo: Phando Jikelo (ANA)
Erasmus said he felt the heat was certainly on his team, with only a win acceptable on Saturday.
“When you lose the pressure is more. We are here to build and everyone always says those things,” he said. “We must win, that’s the end of the game. And if you lose there is pressure, every game you lose, it doesn’t matter when.
“Even if you lose against the All Blacks by one point, there will be pressure. The pressure is definitely on us to perform better and to win and the players understand that. I’m pretty sure the training and the effort on Saturday will show that.”
Erasmus had been considering making a host of changes to his team against the Wallabies, but he has scaled that back after their Argentina loss.
“If we won in Argentina, we were going to make quite a few changes in this match to test a few things without disrespecting Australia,” he said. “We put ourselves in a position now where we have to win at all costs, which is always the case in a Springbok jersey, but we will experiment much less than we would have.
“But we will make a few changes.”