Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt might be on the crest of a winning wave but he’s not underestimating the challenge his side faces against back-to-back world champions South Africa.
From the depths of despair after their World Cup disaster, Australia are suddenly on a roll under their New Zealand expat coach.
Two victories over Wales and one against Georgia under Schmidt, following a consolation win over Portugal in their last match of the World Cup under Eddie Jones, means Schmidt’s side are seeking to become the first Wallabies outfit to win five straight since 2021.
But Schmidt knows the size of the task will rise appreciably against the Springboks, who’ve won seven of their past eight Tests, including the 12-11 defeat of the All Blacks that sealed their second straight World Cup title in October.
More recently, they split a tight two-Test home series with Ireland, winning 27-20 in Pretoria then losing 25-24 in Durban, before crushing Portugal 64-21 in Bloemfontein on July 21.
Schmidt noted the potentially game-turning try to Irish winger James Lowe in Pretoria which was disallowed with his side trailing 13-8 after 57 minutes.
But he added the Springboks rarely had to rely on such good fortune.
"South Africa looked pretty impressive, with the level and intensity of that Irish series," Schmidt told reporters.
"There was a bit of controversy with James Lowe’s try being disallowed. For South Africa, they tend to get a bit of luck from that perspective.
"They don’t need too much luck to fall their way, though. They make a lot of their own luck with the quality of player and the connectedness that they have.
"They have guys who’ve played a lot of Test match footy together.
"That breeds a confidence, and an almost unspoken trust amongst players, that they know what each other are going to do and they have an expectation of them doing it well."
Schmidt coached against many of the current Springboks in his former roles in charge of Ireland and Leinster, and as part of the New Zealand set-up.
But he conceded he might have liked a longer preparation to meet them than he had had with the Wallabies.
"I’d like to have had more time, to be honest. It’s very much been a sprint so far," he said.
"There are six new players in, that I haven’t spent time with before. Connecting it all up is a real challenge.
"But I’ve coached against most of (the Springboks) over a number of years. I probably know them better than I know us, but we’ve got a great bunch of young men who are really committed to trying to make sure they are as competitive as possible on Saturday."
Schmidt declared utility back Max Jorgensen fit to play despite a recent run of injuries, and said Will Skelton could still feature in The Rugby Championship despite not returning from French club duty for this weekend's clash.
