Etzebeth glad to see the depth in squad

EBEN Etzebeth was delighted to secure back-toback victories and is eagerly anticipating their New Zealand showdown in a fortnight.

Etzebeth, who stepped in as captain after Salmaan Moerat was forced off due to concussion, said: “It was a good start to the Rugby Championship for us to get the two bonus-point wins, but we know facing the All Blacks next will be massive.

“It took a big squad effort in the last two weeks, and everyone deserved their chance. The guys who started laid a good foundation for the replacements and it was great to see them perform at this level. It shows the depth we have in this squad.”

Looking ahead at their next challenge against New Zealand, head coach Rassie Erasmus expects a huge onslaught from the All Blacks.

“We saw how New Zealand turned things around after last week's result, so we know the challenge that awaits us – it will certainly require another step-up,” said Erasmus.

“With all due respect to Australia, they are in a rebuilding phase and Joe Schmidt is also still finding his feet, so the next two Tests will be tougher.

“We are facing them at altitude in Johannesburg and then in Cape Town where they enjoy playing, so we are excited about what will be almost a mini-series against them.”

Australia head coach Joe Schmidt said: “It was tough-going. I thought we almost got our nose in front at half-time which would have been a lift for the players. They were a little bit beaten up coming in at half-time, very physical as it always is against the Springboks.

“We've got a few guys who are walking wounded. We kind of just scrambled our way through the second half – we found it very hard to contain the maul.

“This is the best team in the world. This is no easy side to play against at the moment and we want to be mixing it with those teams.”