Johannesburg — So great is the desire of Australia to end a 60-year losing streak against South Africa at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria, head coach Eddie Jones has been discussing it since April.
The Wallabies have played seven Tests at the 52 000-capacity ground in a leafy eastern suburb of the South African administrative capital, and lost every time.
One of the defeats was humiliating – 61-22 in 1997 – while the closest they came to success was in 2001 when they fell 20-15.
The five-point loss 22 years ago marked the debut of Jones in his first stint as head coach of a team that has won the Rugby World Cup twice.
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Now, the 63-year-old Tasmanian is hoping to begin a second spell in charge by creating history through a victory at Loftus in the opening round of the 2023 Rugby Championship.
“We have spoken about it (winning at Loftus) since April. It is an opportunity to create history. We want to be the first team that does it,” Jones told reporters in Australia.
Simon Poidevin, a 1991 World Cup winner, has played at Loftus and outlined to the Sydney Morning Herald what it is like being an Australian surrounded by 50,000 partisan Springbok supporters.
“In the cauldron of Loftus Versfeld you just have to remain clam and super killer-focused in that atmosphere,” he said.
“There is huge abuse that comes from the crowd to the players. That is the (South African) way. We all accept the crowd will try and rattle the players.
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“The players who can push through that and really enjoy the atmosphere will thrive. They will embrace the challenge.
“The crowd is right on top of you and it is going to be very noisy. You need a guy like Quade (Cooper) to run off the back of the big forwards.”
Fly-half Cooper has been recalled by Jones – one of nine changes to the starting line-up that snatched a 39-34 victory over Wales in Cardiff eight months ago when Australia last played.
And there will be no shortage of big forwards, either. Lock Will Skelton from European champions La Rochelle is 2.03 metres tall and weighs 140 kilograms.
Australia at Loftus Versfeld:
1963: South Africa 14 Australia 3
1997: South Africa 61 Australia 22
2001: South Africa 20 Australia 15
2005: South Africa 22 Australia 16
2010: South Africa 44 Australia 31
2012: South Africa 31 Australia 8
2016: South Africa 18 Australia 10
Note: Matches up to 2010 were in Tri Nations; subsequent matches in Rugby Championship
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Source: AFP
Picture: Pixabay
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