The Wallabies were rattled by playing at high altitude, the ”wow” factor of meeting Nelson Mandela and their historically woeful playing record at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park, the Australian media said on Monday.
The Wallabies were smashed 33-20 by rampant South Africa to lose the Mandela Challenge Plate series last Saturday after thumping the Springboks five tries to nil in a 30-12 win in the first Mandela game in Brisbane on July 9.
The Wallabies were ”horrible, playing some of the worst Australian rugby for some time in the opening 30 minutes as they fell behind 20-3,” The Sydney Morning Herald‘s Greg Growden wrote.
”They made many errors — dropped balls, wasted opportunities, missed tackles — and had no urgency to their play. They looked like walking dead.
”They couldn’t even use altitude as an excuse, as dry throat and lethargy affects teams only during the second half; not at kick-off.”
Australia have always had problems with the Springboks at Ellis Park, 1 750m above sea level, and have come away from Johannesburg with one win (11-9 in 1963) now in eight visits.
Coach Eddie Jones’ decision to base the team in Cape Town for a sea-level preparation during their two-Test campaign on the high veld was also queried.
”An acknowledged sports scientist in the republic suggested even before the Ellis Park loss that the Australians had bungled their build-up and should have used a 10-day lead-in to acclimatise at altitude,” The Daily Telegraph‘s Peter Jenkins said.
The Australian said there is something about Ellis Park and Johannesburg in general, that unnerves the Wallabies.
”Springbok coach Jake White has his theory. ‘Altitude has a huge effect on them. So too this stadium. It’s the psychological thing about getting off an aeroplane and knowing that you’re going to a stadium that is just not conducive to the way you play. And I think that’s the bottom line,”’ The Australian‘s Wayne Smith wrote.
”Johannesburg is, without doubt, the edgiest city in South Africa and the Wallabies simply can’t wait to get out of the joint — win, lose, or draw, they were booked on a 9pm flight to Cape Town on Saturday, barely four hours after the match,” Smith said.
”The Wallabies have won only seven of 31 in the republic and none from five in the Jones era. They have lost before. But never before half-time.”
The Australian quoted Springbok second-rower Bakkies Botha as saying that the Wallabies were swearing at each other just five minutes into the second half after a fourth straight lineout had gone astray.
”The Wallabies were rattled. Swearing at team-mates is ample proof of how far they have strayed from their game plan,” he said.
Australian reporters at the game said the presence of revered former president Nelson Mandela, a special guest at the Test for his 87th birthday, had an unsettling effect on the Australians.
”The Wallabies were seemingly in awe at having close contact with such an important figure, and the Springboks naturally used this outpouring of national pride to their advantage,” Growden wrote.
South African coach Jake White also spoke of ”Madiba Magic” after Mandela’s fourth appearance at a Springbok Test produced a fourth win.
The Wallabies play the Springboks next Saturday again at high altitude in Pretoria in the first match of the Tri-Nations series. – Sapa-AFP