AB de Villiers last week labelled Australia's sledging of the Proteas the last time they toured, as the most abuse they had had ever received on the cricket field.
But Australian paceman Peter Siddle has rubbished claims the side crossed the line, saying they were "pretty tame".
"He (de Villiers) must have never been sledged before if that's the case," Siddle said.
"Gee, we were pretty tame I think compared to past eras and past teams.
"He must have had some pretty quiet games in his career I think."
Siddle also took exception to Faf du Plessis' comments that the Australian's will be mentally scarred following their 5-0 whitewash in the recent ODI series in South Africa.
"That's what I sort of giggled at, reading that article," Siddle said. "It's a totally different side.
"They (South Africa) played an inexperienced (Australian) side over there in that one-day series, whereas they come out here against the Test side and it's a lot more experienced.
"I think there's a lot of players coming into the side that have a lot of first-class experience but a lot of Test experience as well."
The first Test of Australia's three match series against the Proteas, begins on November 3.
