Schalk Burger issues ‘ominous’ warning to Springboks rivals as Jean de Villiers makes bold statement on SA Rugby.

Springboks legends Jean de Villiers and Schalk Burger have talked up Rassie Erasmus’ side following their dominant tour in Australia.

South Africa managed to open the Rugby Championship with successive victories over the Wallabies, despite rotating their squad for the second Test.

The Boks ended their Brisbane hoodoo by claiming a 33-7 win at Suncorp Stadium in the first match before they made 10 changes for the second clash.

Perfect start That did not hamper the visitors, who pulled away after the break to seal a 30-12 triumph over Australia in Perth to go a perfect 10 points from 10 available in the tournament so far.

The world champions have shown both their quality and depth in the Rugby Championship, and De Villiers made a bold call over South Africa’s current state.

“Complacency is certainly something you will not see within this squad at the moment. A little bit of complacency when you get selected and you will be replaced, and you will be replaced by someone that is probably just as good as you,” he said on the Boks Office podcast.

“There’s so little to differentiate most positions in terms of the players we have there and the depth that we have at the moment. I think it’s the best shape South African rugby’s ever been in.”

Australia kept the game close in the first half of the Perth Test but they could have gone into the break ahead had Noah Lolesio converted a relatively easy penalty opportunity. Instead, the fly-half missed and the hosts were unable to overturn an 11-9 deficit in the second period, with the Springboks’ power game taking over after the interval.

However, De Villiers’ fellow Springboks great, Burger, felt that Erasmus’ men were more dominant than the scoreline suggested, with the Boks missing a few opportunities in the first half.

Burger also claimed that the encounter displayed their squad depth after the head coach gave several fringe players a chance to impress.

“We say it was close in that first half but wheng you think of the two clear cut opportunities that we didn’t take Sacha dropping when trying to catch it with one hand and then [Makazole] Mapimpi – the game looks completely different at half-time,” the former back-row said.

“You look at the players that played tight five and you can’t say it’s third choice because that never happens – they’re first choice on the weekend – but if you look at the players that you can pick ahead of them, a lot of these players will be third on the list.

“For the rest of the world, that’s an ominous sign.”

Agree with both as to the above.