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The Wallabies have yet to win at Pretoria in 60 years, but Eddie Jones has thrown down the gauntlet at the Springboks and urged them to pick their best side for their Rugby Championship opener next weekend.
Not content with just wanting to break their seven-match hoodoo on the Highveld, Jones wants to beat the world champions where the air is thin, the oxygen low and the pressure at its highest.
Intrigue surrounds the Springboks’ side to take on the Wallabies, with SA director of rugby Rassie Erasmus and coach Jacques Nienaber considering dividing their side in two to deal with the hectic travel schedule that will see the two Southern Hemisphere powers travel across the Indian Ocean to face the Los Pumas in Sydney and All Blacks in Auckland less than a week later.
“Well, I don’t know, but what I’m hoping for is their best team,” Jones told reporters at Sydney International Airport on Friday morning.
Asked why, Jones said he didn’t want to take down a half-baked Springboks side.
“Because I want to play against the best,” he said.
“If we want to beat South Africa in Pretoria, we want to play against the best.”
Eddie Jones says the Wallabies have an opportunity to make history by winning in Pretoria. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
So difficult is it to predict what Springboks side will take the field that Jones had his coaching team miss watching the second State of Origin live to focus on predicting whom Erasmus would choose, The Roar understands.
There, it is understood, the meticulous planner fired his first significant shot to his eclectic coaching team to stress the need of the diligence required for the Wallabies to return to winning ways.
The stakes are high for Jones, who will coach the Wallabies for the first time since going down to Wales 24-22 in Cardiff in 2005.
Jones knows plenty about the importance of momentum heading into a World Cup.
While the Webb Ellis Cup won’t be won or lost in Pretoria, a victory it can help shape the direction.
When Jones took over England following their dreadful 2015 campaign, the Australian coach led the nation to 17 straight victories.
Eddie Jones was not happy his coaching staff couldn’t predict who the Springboks would select for their clash next month. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Along the way England won the Six Nations grand slam, a historic first tour Down Under in Australia and backed it up by winning the Six Nations in his second campaign in charge, too.
He also knows that results can be turned around.
Hammered 50-21 in their Bledisloe opener in 2003, the Wallabies did a job on the All Blacks in their World Cup semifinal clash four months later.
But rugby was in an entirely different place in Australia early in the 21st century than it is now following two decades without the Bledisloe Cup.
“We don’t need to get ahead of ourselves,” Jones said. “We’ve got to get out of the gates quickly, but sometimes the sprint doesn’t win the marathon.”
Nonetheless, Jones’ Wallabies aren’t heading to South Africa to come back with their tail between their legs.
“It’s just a great opportunity,” Jones said.
“Imagine being in the first team that’s beaten South Africa in Pretoria. There’s a great opportunity there.
“They’ve prepared well this week. We have a couple of days now, where you’ve got to adjust to the different time zones. That’s important they find the best way to do that. And then we rip in their training on Monday.”
Eddie Jones and Rassie Erasmus have had a running battle for years. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
That mindset remains a key point for Jones.
Ever since being appointed by Hamish McLennan in January, Jones has insisted that the missing “five to 10 per cent” between the ears is what’s needed to unlock the missing parts haunting the Wallabies.
“Yeah, 100 per cent. It’s an opportunity,” he said.
“We’ve spoken about it since April. It’s an opportunity to create history here and we want to be the first team that does it.”
On Thursday, experienced halfback Nic White said Jones had been hammering home the point of a “winning mindset” since taking over.
“I’m not going to lie, you get a bit nervous, and the cattle prod does come out at times,” White said.
“But he cares a lot. He is so unbelievably motivated, hey. Like every day he’s coming in and everything is about that winning mindset and getting better and it’s infectious.”
Ultimately though Jones knows he can’t win the Test, only the 23 that take the field can.
“Well, I’m more thinking about the players,” he said when asked about returning to the coaching box for the Wallabies.
“What have we got to do to get them rights? Again, it’s not about me, it’s about the players. At the end of the day, the big difference in the Australian side is going to be the players, not me.”
Just who Jones selects to run out at Loftus Versfeld remains a mystery.
But Taniela Tupou and Angus Bell remain in the frame, with the giant props on the plane.
For months Jones has been telling Tupou to be ready for the July 9 opening Test, but Bell’s inclusion is just as surprising given less than a week ago Jones said the NSW prop wouldn’t be fit.
Star centre Samu Kerevi has also joined the duo on the plane, which says plenty about the mindset that Jones is taking to South Africa.
Samu Kerevi (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Jones has won just once in Pretoria in international rugby in 2007 as an assistant to Jake White.
Asked about the keys needed to win, Jones returned to a familiar theme: mindset.
“Well, firstly, you’ve got to think you can win,” he said.
“The most important thing is to have the mindset to win. You’ve got to be thinking that, and we’re 100 per cent committed to winning. And then you’ve got to execute a game plan where you can win enough possession, you can push them to the other end of the field and keep them under pressure.”
As for the tactics, get ready for a game of territorial battle where the stakes are high.
“Well, anyway you can mate, just get up the other end of the field,” he said.
“Whether you run, pass, kick, it doesn’t matter which way you get up there, as long as you get up their end of the field. Because the one thing I know, it’s very hard to score from behind your tryline.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.