While talk of the Rugby World Cup and a new era for Australian rugby will be at the forefront of press conferences this weekend, the Wallabies trip to Loftus Versfeld will be a deeply personal one for their coach Eddie Jones.
While Jones has a long and illustrious career, taking both England and Australia to the World Cup final, and winning the showpiece tournament as a consultant with the 2007 Springboks, he is also a coach who is driven by personality and some losses hurt more than others.
The last time that Jones set foot on the Loftus turf, it was for one of his lowest points of his career, a moment which cost him the coaching job at the Reds and was lost in the blue wave of celebration as the Vodacom Bulls surged towards their first Super Rugby title.
Yes, the last time that Eddie Jones coached a side at Loftus Versfeld was the 92-3 disaster in the final round of the 2007 Super Rugby tournament.
That day, when the Bulls needed to beat a points difference of 72 to claim a home semifinal, is still talked about with glee around the halls of the famous stadium, but will no doubt still haunt a passionate coach like Jones all the more.
REVENGE
He has had his revenge in many ways, including coaching Japan to the biggest World Cup shock in 2015 when they rocked the rugby world and beat the Springboks in Brighton.
And while Jones would never admit it, the 92-3 loss will still be one that rankles him, and can be seen as part of the reason why this Saturday’s Loftus Versfeld test is such a personal one for him.
Jones is a very proud coach - someone who loves to rile up the opposition and is always busy with some sort of chirp to try and take the focus off his side.
But on that Saturday back in 2007 he had few answers as the Bulls steamrollered their way into the playoffs and basically handed Jones his marching orders.
The 2007 season was already a poor one for the Reds, and even Jones’ magic couldn’t save them. And by the time they limped to Loftus Versfeld, they were a team that was going through the motions.
BIGGEST POINTS DIFFERENCE IN SUPER RUGBY
While a loss was expected, the scoreline still remains the biggest points defeat of any team in Super Rugby’s long history.
“We took the lead with an early penalty,” Jones remembered in talking to the Guardian shortly before the 2019 World Cup final, “but the Bulls went on the rampage. Everything went for them. Nothing went for us.
“We threw the dice and played extravagantly. I thought it was the only way we would get something from the game. I wanted us to have a real go and score a few tries. They tore us apart.”
The Bulls scored 13 tries on the day and it was inevitable that Jones would receive his sacking orders. But like any day with the irrepressible Jones, it was not a humiliation but another lesson in coaching life.
“I’ve suffered worse losses than 92-3,” he added. “At Tokai University we were once beaten 110-0. We then lost 75-0 in the very next game. But that was Japanese university rugby in the 1990s. This was Super 14 rugby and so it stung to get hammered like that in Pretoria.”
And that sting would have been at the back of Jones’ mind when he saw the fixture list for the shortened Castle Lager Rugby Championship that starts this weekend at the same Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
UNKIND VENUE FOR AUSTRALIA
The venue hasn’t been particularly kind to the Aussies, and it was Jones in 2007 that told members of the SA media that the Aussies “s*** themselves” when they start to descend on the flight into Johannesburg knowing they have to play on the highveld.
In the seven appearances at Loftus Versfeld Australia haven’t been on the winning side once, with the most recent loss being the 18-10 loss in 2016 where four penalties and two drop goals from Morne Steyn put them to the sword.
Before that there was Bryan Habana’s hat-trick as the Boks won 31-8 in 2012, while in 2010 the Boks scored five tries as they won a high-scoring encounter 44-31.
Wins in 2005 (22-16) and 2001 (20-15) were preceded by the massive 61-22 game - which turned out to be Carel du Plessis’ last game as Bok coach with the 1963 game where the Boks won 14-3 the only other fixture at Loftus Versfeld between the two sides.
Add that to the fact that the Wallabies have last won in South Africa in 2011, and there is a lot of expectation that Jones will want to exploit.
EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE
The wily coach wasn’t shy to embrace the challenge either this weekend when asked about the drought in South Africa.
"Yeah, 100 per cent," he said. "We've spoken about it since April, it's an opportunity to create history here and we want to be the first team that does it.
"First you have to think you can win. The most important thing is that's the mindset you've got to be in.
"You've got to be thinking that and we're 100 per cent committed to winning and then you've got to execute a game plan where you win enough possession that you can push them to the other end of the field and keep them under pressure."
And given Jones’ own history with the ground, one thing is certain - whatever happens this week it will be personal for him.