Springboks Vs Wallabies – Can The Boks Do It In Cape Town?

The Springboks will have a lot of pride to play for when they host the Wallabies at Newlands on Saturday, after coming up short by one point in Perth three weeks ago.

The Springbok starting line-up to face Australia shows three changes, with Teboho “Oupa” Mohoje and Francois Hougaard getting the starting-nod from Heyneke Meyer.

Francois Louw’s injury means a positional switch for Marcell Coetzee in the starting team. There is a further four changes on the bench, with Cobus Reinach in line to make his Springbok debut alongside the experienced trio of Bakkies Botha, Schalk Burger and JP Pietersen.

The Springbok selectors opted for continuity, retaining the core of the squad that performed well but came up short in tough away fixtures against Australia and New Zealand earlier this month.

Mohoje will get his first start for the Springboks after making his debut off the bench against Scotland in June. It will be another milestone in a remarkable season, in which he started playing Varsity and Vodacom Cup rugby before getting his break in Super Rugby after the Cheetahs lost a number of loose forwards to injury.

Meyer said tactical needs had led to the changes on the bench: “We felt we needed a couple of cool and experienced heads late in our matches and that is where Bakkies, Schalk, JP, Pat Lambie and Bismarck du Plessis will play a vital role – all of them have more than 30 caps.

The Wallabies have made three changes to their starting line-up, which now sees Queensland Reds hooker Saia Fainga’a and Brumbies winger Joe Tomane getting their first opportunities in the green and gold jersey for 2014, while vice-captain Adam Ashley-Cooper also returns from injury.

Fainga’a was set to return to the Wallabies matchday squad a fortnight ago in Australia’s clash against South Africa in Perth, although withdrew on gameday to fly home to Brisbane for the birth of his first child.

Tomane previously missed Test selection in 2014 due to a broken cheekbone during the June Test series against France, while a hamstring injury ruled the 24-year-old out of the opening four games of the Rugby Championship.

In a further change, NSW Waratahs prop Benn Robinson also earns his first Test opportunity for 2014, as part of a traditional 5-3 split on the bench.

McKenzie said the inclusion of Fainga’a to the starting side and Robinson on the bench reflected the importance set-piece would play in the match.

There are a number of important milestones at stake for Australia on Saturday night.

Victory would see them win back possession of the Mandela Plate, which was won by South Africa in 2013.  Australia took the first step to reclaiming the silverware by beating the Springboks 24-23 on the Gold Coast over a fortnight ago.

A win would also see Australia move into second place on the IRB World Rankings, a position currently held by the South Africans.

A third milestone up for grabs would be the chance to break South Africa’s long-running win streak in Cape Town, with no Australian side winning at Newlands Stadium since 1992.

Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 JP Pietersen.

Wallabies – 15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Fainga’a, 1 James Slipper.
Subs: 16 James Hanson, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nic White, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Rob Horne.