Sibling rivalry defines Springboks v Wallabies but its sheen has faded

Wide open spaces, warm weather all year round, meat cooked over flames, an over-reliance on fossil fuels, a problematic past, an innate faith in the natural athleticism of its citizenry, a fanatical obsession with sports. South Africa and Australia might be separated by more than 10 thousand kilometres of Indian Ocean, but in cultural terms at least, they’re practically neighbours.

Bigger foes are found on the rugby field. The All Blacks loom largest for both, and the historical baggage left over by the English means that losing to the Red Rose can prick like a thorn, but there is something sibling-like in the rivalry between the Springboks and the Wallabies.

“It’s the similarities, more than the differences, that drive it,” says Clyde Rathbone, the former Wallaby wing with 26 Test caps who captained his native South Africa to glory in the 2002 Under-21 World Cup. “Once you get on the field, though, it’s a collision of polarising rugby theories. For me growing up it was always the blunt trauma of the Springboks against the guile of the Wallabies.”

In South Africa, rugby is a quasi-religion and has long been used as a political tool. During apartheid the National Party wielded the sport to assert its racist ideology. Later, Nelson Mandela held up the Springbok emblem as a unifying force. The national team’s successes or failures remain tethered to the state of the nation. And when confronted with adversity, fervent passion drives the players forward.

In Australia, though, union is consigned to a fringe status. Coaches seldom have their pick of the best athletes. Innovation and enjoyment are not just buzzwords but survival mechanisms. Without them the Wallabies would have withered on the vine.

“One of the first things I