ON THE day Springboks coach Peter de Villiers declared war on the Wallabies, Australian captain Stirling Mortlock brought sanity back to the argument by demanding his players remain disciplined if their opponents attempt to provoke them in tonight's Tri Nations Test at Subiaco Oval.

De Villiers, who in just a few months as Springboks coach has earned a reputation for astonishing statements, challenged the Wallabies yesterday by saying that he was aware of the threats "they can pose to us but, then again, it's war and you die".

Such sentiments would concern some Wallabies who, over the years, have been victims of unsavoury Springboks tactics, in particular those who were eye-gouged, king-hit, bitten and spat on during the 2003 Brisbane Test.

The Springboks have dramatically cleaned up their act since, but their underhanded tactics returned during last week's win over the All Blacks, with hooker Bismarck du Plessis suspended for three weeks for eye-gouging Adam Thomson. And despite video replays clearly proving du Plessis's guilt, high-ranking South African officials made the extraordinary claim that their rake had been harshly treated by the Sanzar judiciary.

On the eve of the Perth Test, the Wallabies were shrewd enough not to buy into the argument that the Springboks go too far. But they have made a pact not to get sucked in.

Mortlock said: "Discipline has been a focus for us lately. The first Test against France we gave away about 19 penalties, and the second we gave away only about nine. So we've spoken about that, in particular our ability in the Tri Nations to punish opponents when they are ill-disciplined."

When it was suggested the Wallabies needed to be careful because the Springboks were renowned for provoking rivals, Mortlock said: "That's right.

"But it's all part and parcel of playing the Africans. They pride themselves in physically dominating you, and taking you out of the comfort zone. It is up to us to show that we're up to that … Likewise, we have to keep in touch with our goals, and that does revolve around discipline."

Wallabies five-eighth Matt Giteau was also careful not to take the bait when asked if there were any fears that the Springboks could "rough-house" him as they did with his All Blacks counterpart Dan Carter during their recent two-Test series. "No fears," Giteau replied. "It's a Test match. So it's going to be a physical game, whether you're targeted or not. It comes with the game."

The Wallabies discovered another potentially influential player in the game yesterday when they completed their preparations with a captain's run in near cyclonic winds and driving rain at Subiaco Oval.

The tradition of having the team photograph on the ground before the start of training was stopped yesterday, with everyone instead quickly heading to the shelter and safety of indoors.

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