Preview: Australia v South Africa

Two defeats to New Zealand have bruised more than just Bok bodies it seems, making Saturday an ideal time for Australia to strike.

Two defeats to New Zealand have bruised more than just South African bodies it seems, making this Saturday an ideal time for Australia to strike.

We have been shelled by comments regarding refereeing 'inconsistencies' in Wellington, with Alain Rolland sending Danie Rossouw to the sin-bin deemed an unjustifiable punishment by Bok fans – and also their management, for that matter. It's all gone off as the week has unravelled.

The South Africa Rugby Union (SARU) has even taken the issue to a higher level, such is their belief that they are being dealt a raw deal this year. How quickly the worm has turned then since the Bulls lifted successive Super 14 titles and the Tri-Nations trophy of 2009 went into their cabinet.

In stark contrast, New Zealand are now flying the southern hemisphere flag with the colour having recently been a shade of green. Their ten-from-ten start has left life very difficult indeed for those chasing the World Cup favourites, whose odds are expected to come tumbling down next month.

And so we come to the Wallabies, who have been the watching assessors up until now.

Fresh they are but cohesive this group is not. Despite all the promise and bigging up (myself included) of this team, they strangely did not deliver the goods against both England and Ireland and must up their game if they are to keep pace over the coming months.

Questions have been raised over the form of once golden child Matt Giteau from both tee and at inside centre while Robbie Deans is in some journalists' eyes walking a tightrope. Some are even talking of a possible Tri-Nations whitewash for the underdogs. Surely not…

Why? As mentioned in the opening paragraph, Australia could not have asked for a better day to be facing the world champions. South Africa have reduced their training schedule to adapt for the effects of what happened across the Tasman. Had Dan Carter fired with his boot, their fate could even have been much worse, so the hosts will enter Suncorp confident.

Deans' selection is a strong one too and would strike fear into any nation – if their backs can get enough ball for the likes of James O'Connor and Adam Ashley-Cooper. But if that man Giteau kicks poorly while failing to click with Quade Cooper, all of their pack's hard work will come to zero.

Much has also been made of this team's lack of size but as O'Connor has proved since his emergence to Test rugby, elusiveness is better than the brute force. That will also be the message coming out of the Bok number fourteen jersey where Gio Aplon gets the enforced nod in place of the banned Jean de Villiers. Good news for these two is that this venue is certainly the place to run, with the Reds giving us more than their fair share in the Super 14.

It is also worth mentioning that Suncorp Stadium has not been the most profitable of venues for South Africa, as they have scored just three tries in five clashes, not recorded a single win, and have registered double figures only once, thirteen years ago in 1997.

It seems it all bodes well then for Australia, who want to follow up last year's 21-6 success. But will the Boks' wounds see them struggle to keep up or fight for every scrap in victory?

Ones to watch:

For Australia: In a wise move by Robbie Deans, the decision to shift James O'Connor to wing in order to have Adam Ashley-Cooper in the number fifteen slot could be the difference on Saturday. Why? The Brumbies man, who is the largest back in the Wallaby camp, will be more assured under the boot of Morne Steyn and thus add a bigger presence in the air.

For South Africa: Out of position but by no means will that stop Ryan Kankowski from running himself to a standstill. The Sharks number eight – while lacking in bulk – will give the wounded Boks more mobility in what is in no way a criticism of the resting Francois Louw. Louw has impressed a great deal this season but Kankowski offers something of an X-factor that should complement back-row colleagues Pierre Spies and Schalk Burger well.

Head-to-head: Will it be the same old story for the Wallabies with the front-row being their Achilles heel? BJ Botha has been one part of a rock-hard scrum for Ulster this season and his introduction could have made life difficult if Ben Daley was playing. However, Benn Robinson returns this week and should steady the ship with Stephen Moore also being a nice hooking option to have waiting in the wings.

Previous results:
2009: Australia won 21-6 in Brisbane
2009: South Africa won 32-25 in Perth
2009: South Africa won 29-17 in Cape Town
2008: South Africa won 53-8 in Johannesburg
2008: Australia won 27-15 in Durban
2008: Australia won 16-9 in Perth
2007: Australia won 25-17 in Sydney
2007: South Africa won 22-19 in Cape Town
2006: South Africa won 24-16 in Johannesburg
2006: Australia won 20-18 in Sydney

Prediction: A very tough one to call but the fresh hosts should have that bit more in the tank to finish off the Springboks. Australia by 4…!

The teams:

Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (capt), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Ben McCalman, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Kurtley Beale.

South Africa: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Oliver, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Ryan Kankowski, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 BJ Botha, 2 John Smit (capt), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Dewald Potgieter, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Butch James, 22 Juan de Jongh.

Date: Saturday, July 24
Kick-off: 20:00 (10:00 GMT, 11:00 BST)
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Keith Brown (New Zealand), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
Television match official: Matt Goddard (Australia)
Assessor: Steve Hilditch

By Adam Kyriacou