Wallabies Vs Springboks – Who Has The Edge?

The Wallabies are coming off their biggest margin loss to the All Blacks in history, as they went down 51-20 at Eden Park, and the Australians would have taken it very personally. That is not to suggest that the Australians played badly, but everything that worked in Sydney, drawing 12-all, imploded in Auckland, and New Zealand were by and large impeccable.

The Wallabies can find solace in the fact that they were able to score, and Wallaby coach Ewen McKenzie has forced some changes ahead of the clash against the Boks.

The most notable being Bernard Foley getting the No. 10 jersey, while Kurtley Beale moves onto the bench. Another big change is Nick Phipps coming in at scrumhalf for Nic White, so the more familiar Waratahs half-back pairing, which undoubtedly works well, is set to be showcased on the international stage.

James Hanson replaces the injured Nathan Charles at hooker, which shouldn’t harm the Wallaby front-row too much. Tevita Kuridrani also comes into outside-centre while Adam Ashley-Cooper moves onto the wing in place of Pat McCabe.

The Wallabies talented backline will always be a threat, but traditionally, these Springbok vs Wallaby matches have come down to who holds the more dominant forward pack, and more specifically, the more effective loose-trio.

Palu, Fardy and Hooper are a good combination for the Australians, however, even with Hooper’s great ball-carrying prowess, they haven’t been as effective at the breakdown, and this is where the Boks can captialise.

Duane Vermeulen, Marcell Coetzee and Francois Louw have proven to be a strong loose forward combination, heightened by Vermeulen and Louw’s strength to create turnovers. They should be the deciding factor in this match to give the Boks some counter-attacking ball, or to force some penalties, at the very least.

Regarding the changes, Adriaan Strauss will start at hooker and Morné Steyn at flyhalf, which moves Bismarck du Plessis and Handré Pollard, who wore the No 2 and 10 jerseys against Argentina respectively, to the bench.

Jan Serfontein starts at outside centre, with Lood de Jager and Damian de Allende shifting to the bench. They are joined there by Trevor Nyakane, Marcel van der Merwe, Pat Lambie and the uncapped Warren Whiteley.

The clash will surely be a cracker, as both teams need a significant win after underwhelming performances, but if we had to make a call, the Springboks should pull through by 5-7 points.

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

Springboks – 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Subs: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Damian de Allende.