The Wallabies didn’t just defeat the Springboks last weekend, they humiliated them. Now comes the reckoning. The bear has been poked, the Springbok spit-roasted. South Africa’s coach Rassie Erasmus has swung the axe with 10 changes to the side that coughed up a 22-0 lead and allowed 38 unanswered points inside an hour.
The widely held view is that rugby’s world order will be brutally restored in this weekend’s return Test in Cape Town. The two-time world champions will crush their impetuous rivals and resume their mantle as rugby’s No 1 team after last week’s boilover saw them slip down the rankings to No 3 below New Zealand and Ireland.
