‘Real indication of where Wallabies are’ – Joe says ruthless Boks win ‘wasn’t a massive shock to us’

But knowing it is one thing, and seeing it unfold so savagely in front of his eyes is another.

South Africa’s 33-7 win was wrapped up well before the Wallabies scored their only points – against a Springboks down two players to yellow cards.

“They’re an incredibly powerful side, experienced side and they won the physical battle today,” Schmidt said.

“Their breakdown was really strong and they dominated possession and territory in that first half which saps the strength out of the boys a little bit but I was proud of the way the team hung in there, fought back.

“It would have been great to get a little bit more out of the game but we’ve got a benchmark and it wasn’t a massive shock to us as to where the Springboks would be and it’s somewhere that we’re going to have to build toward.”

“It’s a real indication of where the Wallabies are currently at,” said Test legend Tim Horan on Stan Sport. “Totally outmuscled by this Springbok pack.”

“I thought in the first 20 minutes the Wallabies played into the hands of the Springboks. A couple of chip kicks that didn’t go to plan, Rob Valetini lost the ball. Those chances gave so much possession to the Springbok and that momentum showed.”

Morgan Turinui agreed: “It’s a great lesson of what real Test rugby is about. If you don’t take your chances world champion teams will make you pay and the Springboks have done that.”

The 3-0 winning record so far for Schmidt was a bit like the talk of a sell out crowd at Suncorp and what it meant for Australian rugby – great news on the surface but the reality was somewhat different. The Boks fans outnumbered Aussies in the pubs and then the stands.

The travelling supporters watched their team outclass the Australians, helped along by English referee Luke Pearce who blew the hosts out of the game.

But to blame the ref, or even the Australians chaotic execution at all aspects, absolutely does a disservice to how good the Boks were.

“What I love about this team is the innovation that this side brings. I feel like they’ve grown an extra leg since the Rugby World Cup,” said Sonny Bill Williams on Stan.

“Running wide, offloading at will, but still being able to nail the basics of what their game is and what the DNA is of South African Rugby.”

It took South Africa 10 minutes to score their first try – Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu had missed his first penalty shot to widespread amusement before that – and Australia hadn’t had the ball in hand in the Springbok half.

SFM had the next laugh, and every laugh after that as he outplayed Noah Lolesio in his first Test start.

In the first half Lolesio had virtually no possession although the little he did he kicked away without conviction.

Schmidt went with a kicking game but it went awry and not just from the No.10. Jake Gordon had the crowd groaning with his first two kick, both overcooked – while the shorter kicks were being snaffled up by the Boks and returned with heat.

“If you get your short-kicking game and your tactics wrong as the Wallabies have, you’re handing opportunities, territory, and a lethal forward pack too much ball,” said Turinui.

Former skipper Michael Hooper didn’t have issues with the tactics, just how they were executed.

“I don’t think kicking’s the wrong option. I just don’t think the execution’s been there,” Hooper said.

“I think they’re too short. So you’ve got to turn their forwards around just a bit further, an extra 10, 15 metres. Right now, they can stay put, and they can stand in the way of our chasers coming through. So we’re not getting a good contest on the ball.”

Any time the Aussies ran the ball the Boks bashed them up. The Wallabies’ attack was narrow, noted Turinui at length, and adjustments will be required ahead of the second game next week.

“They’ve had chances but some small discipline errors have led to big, big costly mistakes,” said Justin Harrison.

“The Springboks team unrelenting in their attitude, given too many opportunities by the Wallabies.”

The teams travel to Perth next week with Schmidt concerned over his troops. Taniela Tupou was at the ground but couldn’t play because of bereavement following the death of his father. There are suggestions he might need to travel to Tonga next week, which would jeopardise his place in Perth.

Schmidt said Nick Frost, Jeremy Williams and Filipo Daugunu were possible injury concerns.

So what do the Aussies need to bring to bridge the massive gap between the sides in seven days time?

“Physicality – everyone’s going to be sick of us saying it – but you’ve got to turn up with that,” Hooper said.

“Our set-piece has to improve. We conceded mauls, there was a one-way scrum affair today> We’ve got to get that game sorted because any knock-on, you know you’re going to scrum, you’re probably going to a penalty afterwards, so you’ve got to lock that basic stuff down.

“I didn’t mind the kicking in the game, we’ve got to get that execution right. Both our kick-offs and also our infield kicks have to be a lot better executed so our players can move forward and send their forwards back.

“So a fair bit to work on, but I thought the Wallabies turned up physically well at the start of the game and that’s what you want, a bunch of guys fizzing and ready to rip into the world champs.”

For Sonny Bill it’s about “keeping it real. Monday, let’s lock in. The reality of things is there’s levels,  and South Africa are the best team in the world

“Let’s stay optimistic, it’s still a great side. There’s some raw, energetic, great young players in this team and the beauty of this side, is they know where they’re going.

“OK, it was a tough performance tonight, but it’s not like the Eddie Jones era where everyone was looking this way or that way.

“Now, everyone’s kind of knowing where they’re going and these little hiccups, this is where growth comes.”