Bok skipper Etzebeth expect tough battle against wounded Wallabies
Springbok stand-in captain Eben Etzebeth said the Wallabies will be a difficult team to beat‚ especially after their rousing performance against the All Blacks in Dunedin on August 26.
After copping a heavy 54-34 defeat in Sydney the week before‚ the Wallabies nearly made a mess of the All Blacks' clean record against them at home before the hosts somehow found a way to win 35-28
The Springboks and the Wallabies meet at Perth's nib Stadium on Saturday morning (SA time) in the Rugby Championship.
They will also keep one eye on the events that will be taking place at the Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth where New Zealand will be hosting Argentina.
“That was a pretty good performance and they were unlucky not to win that match. It was a very close match and they played very well.
"They have a few dangerous guys in that team that we've identified and we'll be trying to compose them‚” Etzebeth said.
“There's always talk about the first 20 minutes in a rugby match and Australia has a tendency of coming out firing.
"We need to contain that and we also need to come out in the first 20 minutes and try to smash them off the park.
"I know they will do the same. I think we'll try to see each out in the first 20 minutes and we'll take it from there.”
Ross Cronje was picked ahead of Francois Hougaard at scrumhalf while Pieter-Steph du Toit starts ahead of Franco Mostert as Springbok coach Allister Coetzee made only two changes to the starting 15 that saw off Argentina in Salta on August 26.
Flyhalf Handre Pollard also makes an appearance on the Bok bench and should he come on‚ it will be the first time he has been sighted in a Bok jersey in just under two years
Reece Hodge‚ Adam Coleman and Tatafu Polota-Nau were the major entries in Michael Cheika's Australian starting line-up as Dane Haylett-Petty and Stephen Moore are on injury and paternity breaks respectively.
Coleman replaces Rob Simmons‚ who has dropped down to the bench while reserve hooker Jordan Uelese is set to make his debut from the bench.
The fact Coetzee has only made two changes‚ one of them being a rotational swap‚ points to stability that was missing last season.
Etzebeth said team unity was one of the big reasons why they have attained positive results this year where they are yet to lose after five starts.
“Its the togetherness of the team and we have much more time to prepare and its a really enjoyable environment that we have when it comes to playing for the Springboks.
"Everyone is enjoying each other's company. I'm not saying that we didn't last year but I feel this year there's something special happening‚” Etzebeth said.
"We try to improve in all aspects of the game. I can't picture a team who wants to be worse than the previous week.
"We want to be better in the scrums‚ in the lineouts and all the other stuff. That's why we're training and trying to improve. We'll try to look for a complete performance."
Teams Australia: 15 Israel Folau‚ 14 Henry Speight‚ 13 Tevita Kuridrani‚12 Kurtley Beale‚ 11 Reece Hodge‚ 10 Bernard Foley‚ 9 Will Genia‚ 8 Sean McMahon‚ 7 Michael Hooper (c)‚ 6 Ned Hanigan‚ 5 Adam Coleman‚ 4 Rory Arnold‚ 3 Sekope Kepu‚ 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau‚ 1 Scott Sio.
Subs: 16 Jordan Uelese‚ 17 Tom Robertson‚ 18 Allan Alaalatoa‚ 19 Rob Simmons‚ 20 Jack Dempsey‚ 21 Nick Phipps‚ 22 Samu Kerevi‚ 23 Curtis Rona.
South Africa: 15 Andries Coetzee‚ 14 Raymond Rhule‚ 13 Jesse Kriel‚ 12 Jan Serfontein‚ 11 Courtnall Skosan‚ 10 Elton Jantjies‚ 9 Ross Cronje‚ 8 Uzair Cassiem‚ 7 Jaco Kriel‚ 6 Siya Kolisi‚ 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit‚ 4 Eben Etzebeth ©‚ 3 Coenie Oosthuizen‚ 2 Malcolm Marx‚ 1 Tendai Mtawarira Subs: 16 Bongi Mbonambi‚ 17 Steven Kitshoff‚ 18 Trevor Nyakane‚ 19 Lood de Jager‚ 20 Jean-luc du Preez‚ 21 Francois Hougaard‚ 22 Handre Pollard‚ 23‚ Damian de Allende Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand) Assistant referees: John Lacey (Ireland)‚ Paul Williams (New Zealand) TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)