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Rugby Championship
Australia vs South Africa
Suncorp Stadium
Brisbane, Australia
Saturday, 18 September
Kick-off is at 09:05
South Africa will be eager to get their 2021
Rugby Championship campaign back on track when they take aim at Australia in Brisbane on Saturday.
The World Cup holders were overwhelming favourites to beat the Wallabies on the Gold Coast last weekend, but suffered a shock 28-26 defeat, which has subsequently left the All Blacks five points clear atop the tournament standings.
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Quade Cooper slotted a 40-metre penalty after the hooter to earn a youthful Aussies side a memorable win. In all, the 33-year-old converted eight-from-eight kicks for 23 points to cap a remarkable comeback to Test rugby.
"I thought he was excellent and implemented things well. Credit to him. Against the world champions, it was a hell of an effort," Australia head coach Dave Rennie said when asked about the playmaker.
In contrast, the Springboks were dreadful from the kicking tee and struggled for fluidity throughout the encounter.
Pressure will now be on Jacques Nienaber and his coaching staff knowing that South Africa can't afford any more setbacks if they are to win the Rugby Championship, and maintain their spot atop the world rankings.
“We had a review of the performance on Tuesday morning and identified the areas we need to place extra emphasis on this week,” said Nienaber in the build-up to the fixture, which will be followed by back-to-back games against New Zealand.
“The entire squad was disappointed about the result, but it’s important that we put it behind us and ensure that we don’t make the same mistakes again.
“We have three big matches coming up, and if we win them all we can still defend our Rugby Championship title, so we’ll continue to work hard on the field to achieve that.”
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Nienaber has made three changes to his matchday squad for Saturday's test. Marvin Orie takes over at lock from Lood de Jager who has started his concussion return to play protocol. Furthermore, Trevor Nyakane was named at loosehead prop, with Steven Kitshoff named amongst the replacements in place of Ox Nché.
Wallabies XV: Tom Banks, Andrew Kellaway, Len Ikitau, Samu Kerevi, Marika Koroibete, Quade Cooper, Nic White, Rob Valetini, Michael Hooper (captain), Lachlan Swinton, Matt Philip, Izack Rodda, Taniela Tupou, Folau Fainga’a, James Slipper.
Replacements: Feleti Kaitu’u, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Darcy Swain, Pete Samu,Tate McDermott, Reece Hodge, Jordan Petaia.
Springboks XV: Willie le Roux, Sbu Nkosi, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk, Duane Vermeulen, Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi (captain), Marvin Orie, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Trevor Nyakane.
Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Marco van Staden, Kwagga Smith, Jasper Wiese, Herschel Jantjies, Damian Willemse.
South Africa vs Australia head-to-head statistics:
Matches played: 89
South Africa wins: 48
Australia wins: 38
Draws: 3
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