Roar Guru
It’s round three of the Rugby Championship and we’ve moved to Suncorp Stadium, in Brisbane – the Wallaby Fortress of recent years, as the Wallabies take on the Springboks. Join us for live scores and commentary from 8.05pm AEST.
The men in gold are attempting to snap a three match losing streak, while the Springboks are hoping to overcome their Brisbane hoodoo, a city they haven’t won at in 42 years.
The big stories before this game were about stars returning to the starting lineups. The Springboks welcome back big Bismark du Plessis, while the Wallabies have brought Quade Cooper into flyhalf.
Both teams have made changes at fullback too as Israel Folau and Sideshow Bob, oops I mean Zane Kirchner, take over the custodian roles.
News broke on Thursday that Wallaby captain James Horwill had been ruled out with a strained hamstring in a blow to Wallaby hopes.
The other notable change for the Wallabies is the recall of Nick ‘the honey-badger’ Cummins to the wing – let’s hope he gets some more Test meat just so we can see another classic post-game interview from him.
James O’Connor has been kept on the other wing; the question remains as whether he will remember to stay on his wing in defence though.
As one witty fan put it “JOC on the wing is a good move, he just has to take one step over the sideline and the problem is solved.”
For the Wallabies this match will be won and lost on discipline and defence. They need to make their defensive line a wall again, not the tissue paper it has been against the All Blacks.
The Springboks will drive from the lineout and probably the scrum and use Alberts and Vermuelen as the tip of the battering ram in general play with players binding on to drive them through tackles and over the advantage line.
Unless the Wallabies can stop the Spingboks generating forward momentum the game will be lost.
Similarly if they give Morne Steyn too many shots at goal the game will be over very quickly.
For the Springboks the danger comes from two places, Michael Hooper’s influence at the breakdown and the Genia-Cooper-Folau axis in attack. Both can be nullified by aggressive forward work and winning the tackle contest.
If they let Hooper create turnovers or give the Wallaby halves too much front foot ball they could be huddling behind the goal posts frequently trying to regroup.
The major concern when running the eye over the lineups is the bench. The Springboks have a vastly superior set of reserves.
The bench front rowers of Adrian Strauss and Coenie Oosthuizen are arguably better than their starting counterparts, while Siya Kolisi and Jan Serfontein offer the kind of punch off the bench that no-one has offered for the Wallabies since Robbie Deans used Scott Higginbotham as an impact player in 2011.
So many questions will be answered after 80 minutes tonight:
And who will win? My head says Springboks, heart says Wallabies. Join the pre-game discussion from 7.30pm AEST and then watch the action unfold.