Fuel has been poured onto the fire before what promises to be an explosive Rugby Championship battle between the Springboks and Australia in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The Wallabies were given a major boost when coach Joe Schmidt said powerhouse players Rob Valetini, Will Skelton and Taniela Tupou would be ready for the opener.
“They are definitely all in contention for Ellis Park,” Schmidt said.
“Will played 60 minutes in the third Test against the Lions and Taniela played 60-odd minutes in Sydney.
“So they are fine and Valetini did a really good run on Saturday, so our ambition is that he’ll train fully with us this week.”
With expectation for the blockbuster opener building, former Wallabies hooker Jeremy Paul, a veteran of 72 Tests, has tipped a resurgent Aussie team to pull off a shock win at Ellis Park.
The prediction will get up the noses of the Springboks, who will be playing at their spiritual home in Johannesburg at lung-busting altitude in front of a partisan 62,000 crowd.
Paul’s optimism for an upset Aussie win is based on the Wallabies’ beating of the British & Irish Lions in the third Test in Sydney two weeks ago.
Though Paul tips the Wallabies to win in Johannesburg, he said the Boks will come roaring back in the second clash in Cape Town to level the double-header 1-1.
“I think we [Australia] should win the first game,” he said. “Being hardened [by the three-Test Lions series], you could not have better preparation.”
“The Boks haven’t had the preparation going into this game, but we have.
“Australia should be hard and fit. We should be incredibly confident coming off that win and we should win the first game. The second game is up for grabs.”
Paul said Australia would be able to measure their potential after facing the world champions.
“Going to SA for a two-game series — we saw the All Blacks losing both games last year — that’s really where you can gauge yourself,” he said.
After their trip to SA, the Wallabies take on Argentina twice in Australia before back-to-back matches against the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup.
Once again, Paul boldly predicted another big win, this time over New Zealand.
“I think we can win in Perth against the All Blacks, but Eden Park, you can’t even talk about going there and winning — has anyone won there in 100 years?” he said.
“We have Argentina here, so I would like to think 2-0.
“For us to win one away in SA, for us to win the Perth game and to be super competitive in the other two would be an incredibly successful year for us. Off the back of this type of game we played in Sydney against the Lions it’s a new level, and they have to replicate this.
“You’ve done it once, now do it again.”
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