South Africa comes into the game after beating New Zealand. Australia is wounded, having lost recently to Argentina.
Last week, South Africa’s national rugby national team, the Springboks, defeated New Zealand. The win came after back-to-back losses to Australia and Argentina. It was coach Rassie Erasmus’s 8th match at the helm, “3 wins and 4 losses out of a possible seven,” the stats read.
The Springboks were ranked 7th in the world going into the NZ game, and fans gave them little chance of defeating the #1 ranked team world. But they did.
This weekend the Boks are at home against Australia in their second-to-last Castle Test match. In an away fixture played about six weeks ago, the Springboks suffered a narrow loss, 24-18, to Australia. But roles seem to be reversed going into this weekend’s match. While South Africa is coming off a win, Australia comes into the game wounded, having lost recently to Argentina.
If the Springboks can win at Nelson Mandela Bay and New Zealand loses against Argentina, then the two teams will face each other in a final encounter (in South Africa) in a Test decider. Equally so, if the New Zealanders win at Argentina and the Boks triumph against Australia, then a win for the Springboks against New Zealand at home next week will be enough to earn the trophy.
A win for Rassie’s side against the Aussies this weekend would do wonders for the Springboks’ World Cup hopes. And it would definitely rally South Africa’s rugby supporters behind the coach. That’s important. Rassie needs his name to be in supporters’ good books.
That said, two things are on the line in this game: a win would do wonders for the team’s World Cup hopes and it would boast Rassie’s coaching stock.
