Australia v South Africa - Teams and Prediction

PREVIEW: New coach Les Kiss believes a shorthanded South Africa will be “hungry” and provide a litmus test on Sunday for an Australia team hoping to return to prominence ahead of next year’s home World Cup.

The Wallabies have made a promising start under the leadership of Kiss, who replaced Joe Schmidt in July, beating Japan twice and then securing a win and a draw to clinch a maiden away series against Argentina.

However, they face the daunting prospect of taking on the world number one-ranked South Africa, who have won five of their past six meetings.

Their chances of an upset in Perth have improved after the Springboks made 13 changes to their starting line-up from their win over the All Blacks in Baltimore this month.

Meanwhile, the Wallabies suffered a late blow with lock Josh Canham ruled out after suffering a mild hamstring injury.

His place in the team has been taken by Lukhan Salakaia-Loto.

Kiss remained wary of the two-time defending World Cup champions, who will still field an experienced line-up despite the wholesale changes.

“They’ll be hungry without a doubt,” Kiss told reporters on Friday.

“They’ve got 10 World Cup winners. This is a big Test team.

“Everyone knows they go three, four deep in every position.

“We know it’s going to be tough, hard yakka this weekend, but this is our backyard… let’s go and make sure we show up.”

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‘Best in the business’

Kiss, 61, has taken over as head coach of an international team for the first time in his long coaching career.

He has not been afraid to make left-field decisions, with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii set to play wing for the first time in his career in Perth.

“The opportunity to look at this game came from probably three or four different angles,” Kiss said.

“The aerial battle, he’s [Suaalii] going to be big, he’s probably one of the best in the business.”

The Test marks almost exactly a year until the start of the World Cup, when Australia will kick the tournament off against Hong Kong in Perth.

The Wallabies have not won a World Cup title since 1999 and their status as a powerhouse has diminished since they last hosted in 2003, a tournament hailed as a runaway commercial and cultural success.

Australia exited at the pool stage during their disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign, leading to the acrimonious departure of coach Eddie Jones.

“Trying to get things right, so we can gradually make sure we’re as fireproof as possible in every way to get to the World Cup,” Kiss said.

“The big picture always sits there. Yet the right here, right now mantra is strong.

“The players have been really strong on that, which is wonderful.”

South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus has defended resting some of his star players due to a “heavy workload” and is bracing for a tough challenge.

“This is going to be a big challenge against a team that has been playing good rugby,” Erasmus said.

“Australia poses a completely different threat to New Zealand in the way they play, so we believe these combinations would be best suited for the challenge that we will face against them.”

Players to watch

For Australia: Wing Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii grabbed the headlines this week with his shift from the midfield to the wing. It seems the Wallabies are worried about how the Boks terrorised the All Blacks under the high balls in the Greatest Rivalry series. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto will have a big job on his hands in the second row after Josh Canham’s late withdrawal due to injury. Salakaia-Loto will need to bring the physicality against the likes of Eben Etzebeth and Franco Mostert. The Wallabies have struggled in the flyhalf department in recent seasons, and Ben Donaldson will face a tough test tactically against the experienced Handre Pollard.

For South Africa: Andre Esterhuizen becomes the 68th player to captain the Springboks, and his versatility around the park could also be key later in the game. Fullback Aphelele Fassi will also have a big spotlight on him. He has been inconsistent in that role, and he will face some pressure from Quan Horn, who will play off the bench. Meanwhile, Marco van Staden will play at No.8 to add some more firepower at the breakdowns, and the front row of Zachary Porthen, Johan Grobbelaar and Jan-Hendrik Wessels will be seriously tested in the scrums.

Prediction

Rugby365: South Africa by seven points.

Teams:

Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Ryan Lonergan, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Angus Bell.
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Aidan Ross, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Lachlan Shaw, 20 Tom Hooper, 21 Carlo Tizzano, 22 Tate McDermott, 23 Harry Potter.

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 Andre Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marco van Staden, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Quan Horn.

Date: Sunday, September 27
Venue: Optus Stadium, Perth
Kick-off: 17.45 (11.45 SAST;09.45 GMT)
Expected weather: It will be mild and partly cloudy with a strong breeze and a chance of rain
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

AFP & @rugby365com