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Round 5 of the 2014 Rugby Championship sees South Africa hosting the Wallabies in beautiful Cape Town. Join The Roar for live scores and updates from 1:00am (AEST).
A pivotal match between these two sides with both currently sitting on ten competition points.
With only one round remaining, a win is a must for either side if they wish to maintain hope of winning the Rugby Championship.
Some big talking points ahead of this match are in the bench selections.
Coach Ewen McKenzie has moved away from the 6-2 bench employed in recent times to a more traditional 4-3 split, with Matt Hodgson dropping out of the 23 and Scott Higginbotham providing the only loose forward cover from the bench. Rob Horne takes another place on the bench, being pushed out of the starting XV by the returning Joe Tomane.
Horne can count himself unlucky, being one of the Wallabies’ more consistent performers this season and while Tomane perhaps offers more in attack, if the Wallabies’ forwards are going backwards it could be a long day chasing Springbok speedster Cornal Hendricks, especially considering match fitness may be an issue after a long layoff.
Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer has named a powerful line-up and imposing bench with Bismarck du Plessis, Bakkies Botha and Schalk Burger ready and waiting to be introduced into the match.
Plenty of interest will also surround the performance of Francois Hougaard and Handre Pollard in the halves, and how much time the exciting Cobus Reinach gets from the bench.
For the Wallabies, McKenzie has kept faith with his under-fire lock pair of Rob Simmons and Sam Carter and out-of-form blindside Scott Fardy. These three players in particular have come under much scrutiny from fans and media alike, and need a big game.
The Wallabies’ forwards cannot afford another off day like in their last away match. If they wish to unleash the potent attacking ability in their back division the forwards must gain parity against a very powerful Springbok team who will be out to avenge the Perth loss with a solid performance in front of the Cape Town faithful.
Pop the coffee on, settle in and don’t forget to log in and have a say as we cover all the action live.
Tip: Springboks by 8.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.