Former Wallabies enforcer Justin Harrison has recalled the infamous 20-player brawl against the Springboks that ended with him escaping a suspension in 2002.
Ahead of Sunday’s match between Australia and South Africa in Perth, the retired lock appeared on the Rugby Heaven show. As part of the preview was the broadcasting of vintage clips highlighting the at times fierce rugby rivalry between the two countries.
The reel began with the 2017 incident where Springbok RG Snyman clattered into Michael Hooper when chasing a restart kick.
The 2022 bust-up featuring Eben Etzebeth, another South African lock, and Allan Alaalatoa was also shown, and then came the 24-year-old footage of Harrison teaming up with fellow Wallaby Jeremy Paul and landing punches on Faan Rautenbach.
“A moving melee…”
After the brawl ended, Harrison and Paul were sin-binned by English referee Steve Lander along with South Africa’s Werner Greeff.
Harrison, Paul and Rautenbach were then cited and had to appear at a disciplinary hearing the next day in Brisbane, where the yellow card for the Aussie pair was deemed sufficient while Rautenbach was punished with a retrospective yellow card.
“Both nations are quite evenly matched, right? The results are very similar. It speaks to the DNA of the athlete on the field and the nation that they’re representing and the passion in which they like to portray that in the jersey.
“And that absolutely is not only just execution of skill, but it is execution of emotion and talent,” said Harrison after initially seeing the 2017 and 2022 clips.
About the Wallabies-Springboks punch-up he was involved in, Harrison added: “There was a bit of niggle leading into the Test, and when it started it was just find a green jersey and get a hit on… It was a moving melee.
“I didn’t get suspended. Yellow card was sufficient. The defence was pretty clear. I explained to your honour the next day that it was very clear that I was concerned for Jeremy Paul’s welfare. Head high, headlock, and I was just trying to break the vice grip that Faan Rautenbach had on Jeremy’s neck, so teammate before self.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s latest clash between the Aussies and the Boks, Harrison was enthusiastic about the decision by Les Kiss to move Joseph Suaalii from midfield to left wing for a first-time start in that position in his 25th appearance.
“It’s an opportunity for him to have on the end of skill execution; all of the things that he’ll do will be final points on movements and finishing moments, so they’ll be amplifiers of his skill level,” reckoned the former international.
“In the middle it’s messy, and there’s a lot of traffic, and there’s a lot of things that he’s doing that have gone unnoticed, no doubt. On the wing it will be highlighted. There will be plays designed for him; there’ll be finishing moves that he’ll be able to accelerate into.
“The challenge, of course, is what happens in the middle with the forwards, what happens at scrum and lineout and supply chain of possession, what happens with the freedom and sort of ball that he gets and the opportunity that he gets.
“We know that Tony Brown, Rassie Erasmus, Springboks are busy designing a game plan with Suaalii played out of the game or turned around a lot, so his work rate’s going to be tested as well right on the pendulum, work back for a kick – he’s still going to have to repair, he’s still going to have to work hard. It’s a great opportunity for him to put what we know he’s got inside that body on the field.”
Having Suaalii on the wing for the Wallabies will add an intriguing dynamic to the kick battle in the air where the Springboks frequently enjoy dominance. “There’s a thing called structured kicking,” Harrison continued.
“A lot of the time, you’ll see teams explore three phases, we don’t get shoulders through, we’re not getting fast ball, we’re not getting our attacking rhythm; let’s kick it and reset.
“The Springboks have an entirely different attitude to the way that they kick and introduce it into the game. They’ll introduce it early and often, and they’ll introduce it while they’re moving forward. Look at those clips: The 10 has a huge amount of time, everyone’s well positioned, everyone knows what’s coming.
“It’s not a repair and a get-out-of-jail card that’s just throw in hope and kick in hope. It is absolutely structured, and that’s what we talk about when you talk about laying platforms.
“The Springboks lay the platform to get to the right field position; when we get to 15, five out, 10 out, 40 out, we’re going to put it on the five-metre line. Everyone knows, but that’s the difference between structured and sporadic kicking.
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“It’s the power that creates the precision, right? The game offers you many opportunities to do things that are finesse and intrigue, but ultimately it’s all about presenting yourself with the best field position most often.”
The repositioning of Suaalii to the wing will allow the Wallabies to line out with a midfield consisting of Hunter Paisami at No.12 and Len Ikitau switching to No.13, Suaalii’s old outside centre role.
It’s a tactic that Harrison liked the sound of. “Paisami has absolutely added some width in his vision when he’s taking ball into contact; he’s looking for offloads, he gets shoulders through, he’s robust in defence without being tunnel vision.
“He was up and in and zeroing in and missing probably the big hit or nothing. And then with Ikitau outside him, he’s that one position close to Suaalii and has probably Max Jorgensen (on the right wing) to free up as well, and we know how magic he is at getting the ball loose and actually penetrating himself.”