Australia Vs. South Africa | Rugby Championship Round 2 Preview
Australia Vs. South Africa | Rugby Championship Round 2 Preview
The Wallabies-Springboks clash in Perth for Round 2 of the 2024 Rugby Championship includes 10 changes for the Springboks. The Wallabies seek redemption.
The Wallabies and Springboks are set to renew their rivalry at Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia, for Round 2 of the 2024 Rugby Championship.
Claiming a landslide victory in Round 1, the Springboks have taken the opportunity to freshen up their team with 10 changes to their 23.
Among the rested players is captain Siya Kolisi, who is set to walk out UFC star Dricus du Plessis for his middleweight title fight against Israel Adesanya.
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For the Wallabies, there's the opportunity to overturn their 33-7 defeat from a week ago, as head coach Joe Schmidt has opted for consistency, while recalling experienced operators Nic White and Marika Koroibete.
While Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus has explained that he is planning for the long run by naming a new-look side, it is by no means a weak team. It includes 15 Rugby World Cup winners. The rotation of the squad means that only RG Snyman, who pulled out of the first test with an injury, will be the only player in the squad not to have featured on the tour.
Key To Victory
Copy and paste will be the order of the day for the Springboks, who once again will look to overpower their visitors in ruthless fashion, just as they did in Brisbane.
Acknowledging where his team was found wanting, Schmidt said, “In the contest areas last week, it was them bringing the physicality on the front foot, even if we had the ball, it was it was very, very hard to breathe at times.
“And that’s exactly the way they like it; they don’t need the ball to attack you. At the same time, I have to say that they attack pretty well with the ball, and they don’t lose anything by bringing in Lukhanyo Am at 12 – he has got that short kicking game, and that’s a real weapon, obviously.
“[Makazole] Mapimpi on the wing, [Aphelele] Fassi at the back does change things slightly as he brings more of a big strong running game as opposed to the distribution that Willie le Roux has.
“The game that Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu] brought last week I thought was pretty impressive. We shut him down one time, and it was out the back of his hand and on a plate for the guy outside him. That’s the intangible things that they do that makes the job of shutting them down difficult.”
Clearly identifying where they were found wanting is one thing; correcting it will be another for the men in gold.
Taking steps toward countering the Bok firepower, Schmidt has powerhouse utility forward Carlo Tizzano at openside flanker to add some bulk alongside the dynamic pairing of Rob Valetini and Harry Wilson.
Elsewhere, the return of Koroibete on the wing will give the Australian backline a much-needed gain line threat.
Should the Wallabies at least gain parity at the contact point, it will go a long way to them staying in the fight and perhaps even see them pull off the upset.
Prediction
Turning a tide takes the gravitational pull of the moon and sun on the Earth's oceans, combined with the Earth's rotation. For the Wallabies, it may feel like they need something similar in Perth to sneak the win.
Working in their favor, however, is the unmatched rugby brain of Schmidt, who if needed, probably could find a way to turn a tide.
There is no doubt that Schmidt will have let his team know in no uncertain terms that they were miles off the pace in Round 1 and will have put in place measures to shore up the costliest areas.
On the other side of the fence, Erasmus is no slouch when it comes to crafting a game plan and will have lent into people suggesting he has picked a second team this week.
Using this as a motivational force, the Wallabies can expect a more-than-game South African side that will be looking to leave its mark ahead of future selection battles.
While the Wallabies certainly will come closer this week, the gap between the two sides is just too big at the moment. Unfortunately, the hosts will not be able to contain the world champions for a full 80 minutes, but they will take some positives from the contest. South Africa by 15.
Lineups:
Australia
15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Angus Blyth, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (c), 2 Josh Nasser, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 James Slipper, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Tom Hooper, 20 Seru Uru, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen
South Africa
15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Handré Pollard
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