South Africa v Australia - Teams and Prediction
ROUND TWO PREVIEW: The Springboks will be banking on some of their more experienced campaigners to take control of things when they face the Wallabies in Round Two of the Rugby Championship in Cape Town.
It all fell apart badly for the world champions last week in Johannesburg when they threw away a 22-0 lead before eventually going down 22-38 in Round One.
Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus has made 10 changes to his team for the rematch this weekend, and one of the more notable inclusions is at flyhalf with the experienced Handre Pollard replacing Manie Libbok.
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“We all know Handre is a guy who likes to control the game – control it like play-off rugby and hopefully as a team we can support him doing that,” said Erasmus.
“I know people have pointed fingers at Manie for how the game was played [last week], and I think all of us, coaches as well, could have helped him a little bit better.
“The forwards also could’ve helped Manie a little bit better.
“But Handre is obviously the oldest head when it comes to No.10 in our team and hopefully he brings what he always brings.
“When Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] gets his gap [off the bench], he can bring the Sacha excitement that he wants to bring.
“I think we all know what we have in Handre and hopefully that does the thing for us on Saturday.”
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Another experienced campaigner who was selected for Saturday’s match was fullback Wille le Roux, but he has been ruled out with a “niggle”. It means Aphelele Fassi will get another shot in the No.15 jersey this week.
The Springboks dominated the opening quarter at Ellis Park with some great attacking rugby, but they seemed to lack direction after that, and they allowed the Wallabies to punish them.
“We have progressed over the last couple of years,” said Bok centre Damian de Allende.
“The first 20 minutes of last weekend’s Test were incredible, and it was probably some of the best rugby we have ever played together, so we know what went wrong and how we can fix it.
“The opportunity is still there [to attack], but we must just know when to take it and control the game a lot better.”
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Meanwhile, Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt will be hoping that last weekend’s win in Johannesburg sparks something that has been dormant in Australian rugby over the last couple of years.
“You hope that it does build belief,” said Schmidt.
“You hope that it builds confidence, so they don’t hesitate, and they seize the moment in front of them and play as best as they can.
“That would certainly be what we are hoping for.
“Another thing we are trying to build is just cohesion.
“We are trying to keep some combinations together, so that cohesion can continue to build.”
With Harry Wilson unavailable due to injury, Fraser McReight will now lead the Wallabies at Cape Town Stadium.
“He [McReight] was captain in the Under-20s when he was in the age-group arena, and he’s a quiet leader,” Schmidt said.
“I don’t think we need someone who’s remonstrating or saying a lot; we just need someone who’s going to demonstrate the right performance on the field that other people can follow, and I think Fraser has demonstrated that.
“In lieu of alternative choices with Allan Alaalatoa and James Slipper, two previous captains for us in the last year, both being out injured, with Harry [Wilson] and Liam Wright both out injured, I wouldn’t say it was a process of elimination because that’s not fair to Fraser, but it was probably not ideal that he’s a first-time captain for us.
“He at least got a little bit of experience in the back end of the game when Harry went off last Saturday.”
Players to watch
For South Africa: Loose forward Jean-Luc du Preez will get his first Test start in seven years as he replaces the injured Siya Kolisi at No.8. A strong performance on Saturday could do his chances of becoming a more permanent figure in the Bok team a world of good. Aphelele Fassi gets another opportunity at fullback after Willie le Roux’s late withdrawal due to injury, while Cheslin Kolbe will be an exciting presence on the wing. Handre Pollard’s experience will be vital in that No.10 channel, and he has some muscle on his outside in the form of Damian de Allende. Lock RG Snyman can also cause a few problems for the Wallabies if he gets his offloading game going.
For Australia: Speedster Corey Toole will make his Test debut in one of three changes to the Wallaby starting side as they attempt to go back-to-back against the Springboks in South Africa for the first time since 1963. The 25-year-old Paris Olympics Sevens star will replace injured wing Dylan Pietsch. Skipper Harry Wilson has failed to overcome a knee issue, with Rob Valetini making a timely return at No.8, while Tom Robertson will start in the front row after James Slipper was ruled out after a head knock.
Prediction
@rugby365com: South Africa by eight points.
Teams:
South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jean-Luc du Preez, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 RG Snyman,3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Lood de Jager, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Akuso Suaalii, 12 Len Iketau, 11 Corey Toole, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Nic White, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 Tom Robertson
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Andrew Kellaway
Date: Saturday, August 23
Venue: Cape Town Stadium, Green Point
Kick-off: 17.10 (15.10 GMT; 01:10, AEST, Sunday, August 24)
Expected weather: Rain is expected earlier in the day before it becomes partly cloudy. There will be some strong wind gusts.
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
TMO: Richard Kelly (New Zealand)
