The Springboks limped home from Auckland licking their wounds after the All Blacks brought to an end an encouraging six match run without defeat for the men in green. Now it is back to the drawing board for head coach Allister Coetzee as he prepares for two home games to complete their campaign.
They meet the Wallabies at the Free State Stadium on 30 September and then get their chance of revenge when they host the All Blacks at Newlands, in Cape Town, on 7 October. Once the Rugby Championship is completed, the Boks will head north in the autumn, where they will meet Wales in the final game of the Under Armour Series 2017 at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, 2 December.
Taulupe Faletau and Luke Charteris will know all about the potent powers of the 32-year-old Louw over the ball at the breakdown from playing with him in the Aviva Premiership at Bath. Can he inspire a major reaction in the Springbok ranks?
He is one of three additions to Coetzee’s squad, alongside the uncapped Sharks duo of S’busiso Nkosi (wing) and Louis Schreuder (scrum half). With Jaco Kriel ruled out with injury, Louw looks set to start against the Wallabies after playing himself back to full fitness following a shoulder injury that kept him out of the summer tests.
Significantly, he has played five times against Wales and has never ended up on the losing side. That is a record his clubmates will be looking to change in December.
“Francois is an experienced loose forward who has always performed well for us. He is still regarded as one of the best opensiders playing towards the ball and forcing turnovers,” said Coetzee.
“He had a proper off-season for the first time in a long while and will be a good addition to our loose forward combinations in the absence of several players. He will also add to our leadership group and, importantly for us, he still has a burning desire to play for the Springboks.”
Nkosi, a former Junior Springbok, has been a strong performer on the wing for the Sharks in South Africa’s Currie Cup following an equally impressive debut season in Super Rugby. The 27-year-old Schreuder played for the Southern Kings in Super Rugby earlier this year and has maintained his form since moving to the Sharks to play in the Currie Cup.
He takes over from Francois Hougaard, who is returning to Worcester Warriors, and will compete with Ross Cronje and Rudy Paige for a starting berth at scrum half.
The All Blacks ran in eight tries in Albany in a performance that Steve Hansen chillingly described as the best of his six year reign as head coach. Are the double world champions really getting better and better?
Perhaps what their recent demolition jobs in the Rugby Championship – they have beaten Australia twice and South Africa and Argentina once each – prove is just how good the effort by the British & Irish Lions was to draw the series this summer.
If you look at the stats after four rounds of the Rugby Championship, New Zealand stand head and shoulders above everyone else once again. Here are a few facts to chew on ahead of their final two rounds and, of course, their visit to Cardiff in November for the sold-out clash with Warren Gatland’s Welsh side.
* They are averaging more than six tries per game having scored 27 to date – 10 more than Australia
* They have managed 72 clean breaks in four games – 26 more than next best South Africa
* They have made 538 carries and made 2,379 metres, way ahead of all other teams
* They have beaten 137 defenders, compared to South Africa in second place with 87
* They are pretty mean in defence, too, with a high of 86.6% in tackle completion
* Their set-piece is rock solid with 93.9% success at the line-out and 100% at the scrum
The Wallabies have to play their final two fixtures away from home and Michael Cheika is targeting a win-win finish ahead of his side’s northern tour. They are the first opponents for Wales in the Unser Armour Series 2017.
With threats such as Bernard Foley and Israel Folau behind the scrum they have the catalysts to pull something out of the fire at any time. Folau scored two of his sides six tries in the 45-20 win over Argentina in Round 4, while Foley kicked 15 points.
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WALES v AUSTRALIA – Saturday, 11 November 2017 (17:15)
WALES v GEORGIA – Saturday, 18 November 2017 (14:30)
WALES v NEW ZEALAND – Saturday, 25 November 2017 (17:15)
WALES v SOUTH AFRICA – Saturday, 2 December 2017 (14:30)
