Sharpe Focus: Flanker Scott Fardy has brought a combative edge to Wallabies backrow THE Wallabies have had a tough start to the Ewen McKenzie era but there have been some positives - and one of the biggest has been the emergence of Scott Fardy as a Test player. I've been really impressed with what I've seen from Fardy, who made his Test debut in the opening TRC clash against the All Blacks, particularly his robust work around the breakdown. He is making a real impact in that area, which is a little surprising because of his height. However, his position over the ball is excellent and he's bringing a real combative edge to the Wallabies backrow. He's also had some nice touches with the ball in hand and it's great to see a guy whose confidence is growing with every match. He's proved that he belongs at this level. Another Wallaby beginning to make his mark at international level is halfback Nic White, who started his first Test in Australia's win over Argentina. White didn't have many opportunities to showcase his attacking game during that match in Perth but I thought he did well in the dour conditions. His kicking from the base, both into the box and for field position, was good and I thought he defended really well around the fringes. That being said, Will Genia is too good a player to not come back and reclaim the No.9 jersey at some stage. Scott Fardy has shown he belongs at Test level, says Nathan Sharpe. Overall I thought the Wallabies' physicality was far better in their win against the Pumas than what they'd delivered in the early games of The Rugby Championship. The weather probably suited the Argentines more than it did the Wallabies, so it was great to see them grind out a win. I thought tactically they did well to close it out at the end and it was just a great confidence boost to get the victory. Winning is everything for any sports team - particularly one that's under pressure. I don't think the Wallabies really cared what that performance looked like in Perth and this week they get an opportunity to go and take on an almighty challenge and try to get a win no-one expects them to get - against South Africa at Newlands. We saw an obvious shift in tactics from the Wallabies in Perth and that comes down to the fact that teams who aren't dominating possession are generally ending up on top. What the Wallabies really need to do is play intelligent rugby, something they failed to do against the Springboks last time they met in Brisbane. The intent was good - they tried to run the ball a lot - but one of the things the Wallabies are struggling with at the moment is retaining possession, not just through the breakdown but also through simple errors. And if you do that and turn the ball over in your own half, you're inviting the other team to take the advantage and take points. They tried to play too much rugby in their own half last time against South Africa and the Springboks punished them for it. So I expect we'll see Nic White and Quade Cooper go to the boot a lot in Cape Town. Another part of the game the Wallabies will have to get right at Newlands is the scrum. The Australians have struggled with the new scrum laws the most out of any of the four nations in The Rugby Championship. They've had a few opportunities to get it right but it hasn't quite clicked just yet. I'm sure they've been working hard on fixing their deficiencies - Andrew Blades is a great forwards coach in that area - and they certainly won't be happy with their lack of set-piece consistency. They've been competitive in some scrums but are yet to really put in a complete performance right through to the final whistle. The Wallabies haven't won in Cape Town since 1992 but this shouldn't concern them. Newlands is a great place to play rugby. I played there three or four times and we had a really good chance to beat the Springboks there in 2007. We had a game where we really fronted up physically and got stuck into the Springboks, and it was only a couple of booming Francois Steyn drop goals that probably cost us the game. That was one match that was a real war of attrition and it is that sort of game that the Wallabies must be prepared for this weekend. The South African team do have a big forward pack but the majority of those guys have been playing for at least four or five years. They have all played against them and there shouldn't be any fear for the Aussie guys - they've had success against them before.