Rugby Union - South Africa v Ireland - King's Park, Durban, South Africa - July 13, 2024 South Africa's Siya Kolisi during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Rogan Ward/File Photo
BRISBANE (Reuters) - World Cup winners South Africa are well aware of their poor record in Australia but are focusing on the here and now as they prepare for Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash with the Wallabies in Brisbane, captain Siya Kolisi said.
The game is the opening match of this year’s southern hemisphere championship, and a first away game for the Springboks since they won the World Cup in France last November.
South Africa have won only three times in 16 visits to the city and their 49-0 loss in 2006 is among their heaviest defeats.
“Of course we’ve spoken about it but, for us, it’s this game this weekend,” Kolisi told a press conference on Friday.
“It’s out there that we haven’t done really well when it comes to Australia. On this field specifically, they’ve done really well. So it’s a big thing for us.”
“You can’t win the Rugby Championship by winning these two games, but you can lose it by not doing well in these two games. The most important thing for us is this one here.”
DISASTROUS
South Africa play Australia again in Perth next weekend and Kolisi said the Wallabies, despite a disastrous World Cup where they failed to reach the knockout stages, would prove formidable.
“We expect a side that’s going to come out to win. It’s a sold-out stadium, they have the people behind them.
“We know it will be a huge thing for them if they can get a win over us. That honestly hasn’t been our focus. We’ve done our preparation and watched the players individually. Most important is what we have to do,” said the Bok skipper.
“In the past, when we lost, we didn’t deliver on what we needed to do and then they got the upper hand. So the focus is on us, but also respecting them.”
Kolisi, 33, was asked about his club future, after several media reports that he is leaving his club Racing 92 after only one season in France’s Top 14 competition to return to the Sharks in South Africa.
“There’s nothing I can control with what’s happening with my future," he said. "All I can do is focus on what I need to do right now."
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
