The Springboks suffered another defeat on Australian soil, losing to the Wallabies 30-17 in Brisbane.
There seems to be a dark cloud over the South Africans when playing in Australia. Since 2004, they’ve played in Australia 17 times, winning just three outings, drawing 23-all in 2017 and suffering defeat 13 times.
One of the major issues identified in the wake of their latest defeat was the lack of a backup goal-kicker. Handre Pollard missed three of seven shots at goal for a 57% strike rate. Damian Willemse replaced Pollard in the final 10 minutes of the match, but missed a conversion – his first goal attempt since November 2020 – that would have had the Boks sneaking away with a draw.
More than anything, it highlighted how desperately the Springboks need an alternative kicker to Pollard. The Boks turned to veteran Morne Steyn when Pollard had another off-day during the third Test against the British & Irish Lions and the 37-year-old memorably kicked the match and series winner.
Elton Jantjies, meanwhile, had a good outing against Argentina in Port Elizabeth, converting six of seven goal-kicks in a comprehensive 32-12 win.
After he helped the Bulls retain their Currie Cup title, there have been renewed calls for Johan Goosen to join the squad. Goosen kicked 37 of 43 attempts during the 2021 domestic championship for an 86% strike rate.
It could also be argued that the Bok bench needs a tweak. Especially when we are down under.
Yes, the Springboks are without their two best players in Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cheslin Kolbe, but when one considers how the entire team system has so fundamentally malfunctioned over the past weekends, it seems unlikely that their presence would have altered the end results.
However, there are still many questions unanswered as the Boks again struggle to win in Aus. It continues to be one of the great conundrums of the modern Springbok era.
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