Vermeulen rejects 'strange statement' that Boks will drop intensity against Wallabies

Duane Vermeulen has hit back at claims that South Africa risk a drop in intensity when they face Australia in Perth, calling any talk of the Springboks taking the Wallabies lightly a “strange statement” ahead of the Test match.

Rassie Erasmus’ side arrive in Perth off the back of a gruelling four-match series against New Zealand — Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry — and have made sweeping changes to their starting XV, with only Eben Etzebeth and Ethan Hooker retained from the side that beat the All Blacks in Baltimore. The scale of the rotation prompted questions about whether the Springboks were treating the fixture with sufficient seriousness, a suggestion Vermeulen rejected outright.

“No one plays this game to lose, so anyone who talks about losing is making a strange statement,” the former South Africa No.8 said. “They are a tier-one nation, a team on the rise, and they are playing really well, so we’ve been preparing hard. The time since the Baltimore Test was not a break. It was a case of giving the guys time to run through their plays and understand their roles.”

Vermeulen also acknowledged that Australia have had a strategic advantage, watching both southern hemisphere heavyweights closely throughout the Greatest Rivalry series before facing the Boks — and then the All Blacks again in the Bledisloe Cup.

“The big thing is that Australia had a good opportunity with RGR to prepare for the Boks,” he said. “They’ve had a nice chance to take a good look at both teams and work out how they want to play against us, and also the Kiwis. They’ll definitely go into this game with a proper plan.”

On the rotation itself, Vermeulen framed the changes as a fulfilment of a promise Erasmus made at the start of the year — that every squad member would be given a chance to prove themselves.

“At the beginning of the year Rassie said everyone would get an opportunity to play, and this is a testament to him staying true to his word, so hopefully the guys take the opportunity and show us what they’ve got.”

When pressed directly on whether the Boks could fall flat after the emotional intensity of facing New Zealand, Vermeulen was blunt: “That may be your perspective, but it’s not as if we go into a Wallabies Test and say, ‘let’s just throw the ball around and have fun because it’s not the All Blacks’. They will be up for it, and we are looking forward to it as well.”