The Springboks made 13 changes, but the Wallabies will be pretty much at full strength after their coach, Les Kiss, named an experienced team for Sunday’s one-off test match at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
While Bok coach Rassie Erasmus named his team on Tuesday, the Wallabies announced their starting team and reserves on Friday morning South African time, and the Boks should have welcomed how strong the home team looks on paper. No 8 Harry Wilson will lead a team that is mostly made up of combinations that have played a lot of rugby together as the Australians go out in search of the scalp of the world champions.
The hosts obviously have a lot to gain from the game as it is No 7 playing against No 1, with the Boks riding the crest of a wave after winning the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks. The Wallabies play New Zealand next, with the Bledisloe Cup games set for October, and a win over the world champions would be a massive boost to the Wallabies' confidence.
However, it would be wrong to assume there’s not a lot to gain for the South Africans too, with the fact that the Wallabies have gone full strength, giving the Boks the opportunity to make a big statement about their own depth.
Erasmus didn’t rotate his selections to the extent that was expected against the All Blacks, and this is an opportunity for him to measure his back-up players and aspiring World Cup participants 12 months out from the global tournament that will be played in Australia.
THIS IS A SECOND-STRING STARTING TEAM
It is often said that there is no such thing as a first choice and second-string Bok team, and for most of this cycle under Erasmus, that has been true, but given there were 13 changes made to the team that clinched a very important series in Baltimore two weeks ago, this time we can beg to differ. This is the Bok change-up team, make no mistake about that.
But that could change if these Bok players produce the goods against a Wallaby team that, although listed only seventh in the world rankings, is considered to be on the rise and which beat the Boks in quite a comprehensive fashion in Johannesburg last year. The Boks did win in Cape Town the following week, but it was a nervy performance, so it is hard to say that revenge was exacted.
The Boks will be very mindful of that, and it is probably why Erasmus has said more than once this week that this game is a massive one for the Boks. It is also a massive one from a statement point of view - if you can beat Australia in Australia with what is effectively a second string team, then all the boasts about the depth Erasmus has available to him are true.
Erasmus has rightly pinpointed possible rust as a stumbling block. And he would know, for there was plenty of rust in evidence the last time he went for combinations that hadn’t played together for a while - both in Buenos Aires two weeks before the first RGR test and then in that test itself.
However, he has given himself the insurance provided by a strong bench, with the first-choice front row backing up this time and ready to bail the team out should there be hiccups, while the three locks in the match day squad are all experienced campaigners.
THE ICEMAN
Handre Pollard at flyhalf is a double World Cup winner and is not known as the Ice Man for nothing. He will be itching to get some game time and, in the process, send out a reminder of what he is capable of. He was the man of the match the last time the Boks played the Wallabies in Cape Town last August.
Andre Esterhuizen will also be eager to remind people that while he is an accomplished hybrid player, he’s also a pretty useful centre, and in Canan Moodie he has a centre partner who has featured in some big Bok wins in the past. Aphelele Fassi needs to remind us why, not much more than a year ago he was considered the incumbent fullback ahead of Damian Willemse, and Ethan Hooker has been in outstanding form on the wing in recent weeks.
Paul de Villiers and Marco van Staden are there to blunt the poaching threat posed by the Wallabies flanker Fraser McReight, which was an area the Boks tripped up at in the Ellis Park game that may still loom large in their psyche.
Malcolm Marx is probably the most irreplaceable of the current Boks so Erasmus will need a good game from starting hooker Johan Grobbelaar and also Jan-Hendrik Wessels if, as has been speculated, Marx comes on as a flanker to allow Wessels to switch from his starting position of loosehead prop into the middle of the scrum later in the game.
If it were not for the possibility of rust, this Bok team would still be regarded as a formidable one, so it is not unreasonable to expect a statement win that will remind us of the options Erasmus has open to him.
TEAMS
Australia: Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, Len Ikitau, Hunter Paisami, Joseph-Aukuso Suaallii, Ben Donaldson, Ryan Lonergan, Harry Wilson (captain), Fraser McReight, Rob Valentini, Jeremy Williams, Josh Canham, Allan Alaalatoa, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell. Replacements: Billy Pollard, Aidan Ross, Taniela Tupuo, Lukhan Slakaia-Loto, Tom Hooper, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Harry Potter.
South Africa: Aphelele Fassi, Edwill van der Merwe, Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen (captain), Ethan Hooker, Handre Pollard, Herschel Jantjies, Marco van Staden, Elrigh Louw, Paul de Villiers, Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Zachary Porthen, Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche, Wilco Louw, Lood de Jager, Jasper Wiese, Morne van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Quan Horn.
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Kick-off: 11.45am SA time
Prediction: Boks to win by 8 or more.