Australia takes on South Africa in the Rugby Championship on Saturday, September 6.
The match at Patersons Stadium in Perth is slated to start at 6:05 p.m. AEDT (11:05 a.m. SAST).
The match will be broadcast on Fox Sports 2 in Australia and SuperSport in South Africa.
Live streaming will be available through the broadcasters.
The Springboks are coming off two wins over Argentina while Australia is coming off a loss to New Zealand following a draw.
The Wallabies will be looking for a win to start this leg of the Rugby Championship while the Springboks will look to continue their momentum.
“The Wallabies are looking to relaunch their Rugby Championship campaign after a disastrous performance in their last outing a fortnight ago. Ewen McKenzie’s men headed over to Auckland’s Eden Park seemingly high on confidence following an opening round 12-all draw with the All Blacks, only to be smashed off the paddock in a 51-20 rout. They’ve had two weeks to recover from that debacle and set themselves for a new challenge: the second best side in the world behind New Zealand - South Africa,” Fox Sports previewed.
“Their opponents on Saturday night, the Springboks, have a point to prove of their own after coming in for criticism during the early rounds. The South Africans sit atop the Rugby Championship ladder thanks to back-to-back victories over Argentina, but the manner and margin of those two tight wins hasn’t sat well with the critics. With the big men up front copping plenty of heat, coach Heyneke Meyer has charged veteran lock Victor Matfield, young gun Eben Etzebeth and ‘The Beast’ Tendai Mtawarira with stiffening up the pack.
“It was up front that the Springboks outmuscled the Wallabies to twice roll them in last year’s two Rugby Championship encounters, and the forward battle will again hold the key to Saturday night’s outcome.”
The Wallabies were forced to bring in James Hanson to replace the injured Nathan Charles.
ESPN Scrum predicts that the Springboks will take the match by 6 points.
“The Wallabies have had to travel almost as far as South Africa for this match, and the Springboks enjoy a healthy support in Western Australia, so home-ground advantage is minimised,” it said.
“Expect a vastly improved showing from the Wallabies, but the Springboks appear to have their measure in most areas, including confidence.”
Planet Rugby also predicted a Springbok win, by two points. “Expect a physical yet measured response from the Boks as they look to starve the Wallaby backs,” it said.
Check out squads below.
Australia
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 (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 James Hanson, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 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.
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (capt), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne 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.
Replacements: 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.
