Rugby: Boks, Wallabies need to ratchet up performances

Wallaby Matt Giteau wears the No 12 jersey again. Photo / Getty Images

The All Blacks have the luxury of watching their Tri-Nations rivals writhe in anxiety before they bash each other to bits this weekend.

Both teams are in the squirm position, the Boks twitching after their champion status was undermined twice in New Zealand with all sorts of questions about their playing roster and coaching staff while the Wallabies have been held in the starter's glare for the last month.

Does it matter who wins, do the All Blacks care? Probably not, though for the promotion of next week's Bledisloe Cup start in Melbourne it would be great if the test is a battle of the undefeated.

That would ratchet up the heat a shade on the transtasman foes and increase the fire already smouldering under the Springboks.

A year ago they embarrassed the All Blacks but now they have the red-faced looks. They lack clout without their great halfback Fourie du Preez, they are battling to find a style to suit the laws and are wavering on team selections.

Captain John Smit brings an extra dimension to the team with his leadership, experience and courtesy but his play has lost its snap and accuracy. It is a difficult balancing act for the selectors and Smit who will click over a remarkable 100 caps if he plays the All Blacks in Johannesburg next month.

If the Boks are felled at Suncorp Stadium, where they have yet to win against the Wallabies in the professional era, the questions will grow louder about the team's direction. They sagged twice on the end of year trip last season and lost twice in New Zealand with their unsubtle game plan.

The All Blacks cleaned up their runners behind the advantage line and returned ineffective Springbok tactical kicks in damaging style. No matter their style or content, the Boks have to find a win in Brisbane if they want to defend their Tri-Nations crown.

Warnings have been heading the way of the Wallabies, too.

Not so long ago, Australian chief executive John O'Neill told the team they needed to be more ruthless and had to lift their winning ration from 56 per cent under coach Robbie Deans. It was time for a turnaround with the Wallabies unable to annexe the Tri-Nations or Bledisloe Cup in the last eight years.

"We are at a point where the honeymoon is over and that is not a threat," O'Neill bristled after the Wallabies beat Fiji, Ireland and split the tests with England.

Later, as he reviewed his statement, O'Neill might have wondered about his political wisdom with his support tied heavily to Deans' success.

There were murmurs seasoned back Matt Giteau's international career was on the skids after 79 tests. He brought modest form through the Super 14 then his goalkicking fell away in the tests. Trouble is, the midfield options were not vast. Berrick Barnes and Anthony Faingaa did not quite cut it so Giteau wears the No 12 jersey again.

There will also be heat on men like David Pocock, the Popeye-muscled flanker who will be the only genuine opensider at Suncorp after the Boks shed Francois Louw from their squad and replaced him with No 8 Ryan Kankowski.

The Wallabies won a solitary Tri-Nations test last season - against the Boks at Suncorp. A repeat result this Saturday would do O'Neill, Deans, the Wallabies and Melbourne just fine for next week.