Preview: Australia v South Africa (2018)

Australia and South Africa will both be looking to bounce back from their respective defeats when they meet at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday.

The Wallabies lost 40-12 to the All Blacks in Auckland, while the Springboks were defeated 32-19 in Mendoza in their respective Round Two matches. Michael Cheika’s men, however, have the unwanted record of two losses in the tournament as they sit rock-bottom of the standings, whereas the Boks and Pumas have claimed one victory apiece.

It is not an easy feat beating the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium, however. They have won their last four on the bounce in Brisbane and lost just one of their last nine Tests against the Boks on home soil. This, coupled with the Boks’ poor away record in recent Rugby Championship history, bodes well for the home side, who may further be aided by forecasted wet weather on Saturday, having trained in similar conditions throughout the week.

It could well be a case of the Bok back three having to deal with an aerial bombardment, with the return of Israel Folau making the Wallabies’ back three comfortably stronger in this area of the game.

The breakdown will be another keenly contested area of the game. Bok coach Rassie Erasmus’ decision to leave out any notable fetcher against David Pocock and Michael Hooper is a puzzling one, indeed, as neither Pieter-Steph du Toit nor Warren Whiteley are renowned for their work at the breakdown. Malcolm Marx will be a big miss as he, along with Pocock, have each won six turnovers in this year’s tournament, more than any other players.

The scrum, too, will be watched closely, as Erasmus has chosen to go with a new-look front-row, while Wallabies coach Cheika has opted for continuity; hardly surprising given the fact that his side have won 100 percent of their scrums in six of their last seven matches, overall winning 41 of 43 scrums in that time.

The Suncorp Stadium pitch is known for being conducive to running rugby and one hopes the rain does stay away despite forecasts suggesting otherwise. The decision to move Kurtley Beale to fly-half and put the dangerous Matt Toomua outside of him may prove to be a masterstroke on the part of Cheika.

Beale has been Australia’s primary attacking weapon since making his return from the international wilderness. In contrast, the Boks have two out-of-form fly-halves in Handre Pollard and Elton Jantjies, the latter getting the nod this weekend as he looks to breathe life in to his international career.

Meanwhile, one wonders whether Erasmus is resting players at this stage of the tournament so as to have his men fresh for the All Blacks as he has selected a new-look front-row, a reshuffled loose trio as well as a different midfield combination. This game could be decided among the forward reserves and how and when best Erasmus and Cheika deploy these replacements later on in the match.

Players to Watch:

For Australia: Rory Arnold will start his first Test of 2018 when he lines up in the second-row. Arnold was voted the Brumbies’ player of the season after a fantastic Super Rugby campaign. The question remains to be seen whether he has done his homework on the Bok jumpers. Matt Toomua is a player who has been in the international wilderness far longer, having last started for the Wallabies in 2015. Him and Kurtley Beale seem to have a good understanding and their 10-12 axis will be crucial in the outcome.

For South Africa: The microscope will be out again for the under-fire Elton Jantjies. The Lions pivot has come in for plenty of criticism back home and knows a performance similar to the one he produced in the third Test against Ireland could all but spell the end of his international career. Jesse Kriel is in the starting side for the first time in Erasmus’ tenure, having been a regular in the Bok jersey prior to that. The Bulls centre will be looking to impress alongside Damian de Allende in a new-look Springbok midfield.

Head-to-Head:

The two inside centres Damian de Allende and Matt Toomuahave rather opposing styles and it should make for an intriguing match-up. Toomua is a bit more hard to read as he offers a kicking game, while De Allende does not and prefers the battering ram approach, although he does possess an excellent step. The more modern, versatile Toomua is able to play across the backline, whereas the more traditional De Allende plays only at centre.

Previous Results:

2017: The teams drew 27-27 in Bloemfontein

2017: The teams drew 23-23 in Perth

2016: South Africa won 18-10 in Pretoria

2016: Australia won 23-17 in Brisbane

2015: Australia won 24-20 in Brisbane

2014: South Africa won 28-10 in Cape Town

2014: Australia won 24-23 in Perth

2013: South Africa won 28-8 in Cape Town

Prediction: 

It’s hard to ignore the Brisbane factor. Australia by three points.

Teams:

Australia: 

15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Reece Hodge, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Will Genia, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Lukhan Tui, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Scott Sio

Replacements: 16 Folau Fainga’a, 17 Tom Robertson, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Izack Rodda, 20 Ned Hanigan, 21 Joe Powell, 22 Bernard Foley, 23 Jack Maddocks

South Africa: 

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Makazole Mapimpi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff

Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Rudolph Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Cheslin Kolbe

Match Details:

Date: Saturday, September 8

Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Kick-off: 20:00 local (11:00 BST, 10:00 GMT)

Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)

Assistant referees: John Lacey (Ireland), Paul Williams (New Zealand)

TMO: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

by PlanetRugby 

I think Australia will dominate, but have some problems converting those opportunities as we saw against New Zealand. I predict a win by 10 or less. 

So you are brave enough to forecast a win for Australia by 10 or less.   A very vague forecast that would get you minimal points if the Aussies win,    Be more process - indicate a winning line between for instance 7 and 10 with an average of 8 points according to for instance the Superbru competition,

Your hero Mozart will shout and scream and whatever the outcome claimed that he forecasted the result correctly,    Too big a coward to actually predict a score.  

Your grammar is shocking. It's becoming increasingly difficult to understand what you are saying.

Also, guessing a scoreline or winning margin doesn't make you a rugby savant. If you really want to show your mettle, tell me how both teams are going to play, what the players will do. 

What the hell are you tlking about? are you a witch that can forecast exactly what is going to happen?   Don't make yourself a bigger  fool than you already are,

All I know is that the players you condemn is likely to be the best players in the game.

I'm going to remind of you those words! 

A supernatural ability is not required to forecast how teams will approach a game. If you know how they play, how they have approached these players before, there aren't going to be many surprises, if any.

So, you proclaim these centres are likely to be the best in the game. So to Steph at 7. So too Malherbe in the scrum. We shall see. 

Problem is you have already decided what has happened during the game and like Mozart will lie about it.   Since you are totally clueless about the game you are welcome to it. 

Incidentally Folau is not playing - so you cannot cook up  more BS about him.   

I never lied about Folau. You did. Why do you keep bringing up topics which previously brought you shame?

And as it happened. Where was our mighty centre combo? 

Defending very well and getting near to zero of good ball to play with.

I remember your Folau classic well and irrespective of how you change it after I said iot was real BS - you did attack him under a previous username as well.    

How about slipping off a tackle completely right in fro the of our posts? Was that fun? Didn't get any good ball? He had front foot ball and couldn't generate momentum. Rassie essentially had him angling in like Wales have their big runners, this of course being to open up space by bunching the defence in.

And no. You made a bold statement that one should never kick into an opponents hands. I subsequently provide two tests that proved you wrong. You said I was lying so I posted several articles detailing what I said. You changed tactics to divert from your great shame. You stated that had attacked Folau. In fact, I didn't. Several members were so tired of your lies that they told you to shut up. Oh the egg floweth like a waterfall. I see you and your cell mate are having a fit this evening. You two amuse me.