Wallabies vs Springboks: Four key storylines to follow as ...

The Rugby Championship gets underway at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday as the Wallabies square off against the Springboks. 

Joe Schmidt has made an unbeaten start to life as Australia head coach, but he has rotated a few faces in his squad for the clash against South Africa.

Tom Wright starts at full-back, with Andrew Kellaway and Filip Daugunu named on the wings. Len Ikitau slots into midfield alongside Hunter Paisami, and Jake Gordon and Noah Lolesio again combine at nine and 10.

Up front, Harry Wilson retains his spot at eight after an impressive display against Georgia. He is joined by debutant Carlo Tizzano and the in-form Rob Valetini in the back-row.

Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Nick Frost start in the second-row. In the front-row, Allan Alaalatoa skippers the side from tighthead, with Matt Faessler returning at hooker. Rounding things off, Isaac Kailea retains his place after a decent full debut against Georgia.

Rassie Erasmus has also named a very strong Springboks team, but all eyes will be focused on the performance of youngster Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as he makes his first start at fly-half.

Wille le Roux returns to the side after returning from concussion, and he is joined by deadly duo Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe in the back-three. Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende again partner up in midfield, and Cobus Reinach joins the aforementioned Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the halves.

Elrigh Louw comes into the side at number eight, with Pieter-Steph du Toit and Siya Kolisi joining him in the back-row. Monstrous duo RG Snyman and Eben Etzebeth link up in the engine room. Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi and Ox Nche once again form a tasty front-row.

There are some huge talking points ahead of the game, but we have broken down the four key storylines to follow.

The youngster is the talk of the town right now, but there is still heaps of pressure on him heading into this Wallabies clash. He has impressed in his four Tests to date, but this is his first start (he did play 78 minutes against Ireland, but you know what we mean) and it could allow him to permanently take the reins at 10 for the foreseeable future.

There will a completely different expectation on his shoulders now in the starting 10 shirt, particularly with the experienced Handre Pollard breathing down his neck, but Feinberg-Mngomezulu is an exceptional player in his own right and fits this new-look attack to a T.

If he can put on a good display, it will send a huge message to Erasmus that he is capable of leading this Springboks team, and importantly deal with all the external noise.

This is by no means make or break for the young back, but it’s his first major chance to stake his claim to the jersey.

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A lot has been made of the sudden improvements since Schmidt has taken the reins of the Wallabies, but this is their first major test.

The July internationals were a chance for him to embed his new ideas on the team against Wales and Georgia. They stripped everything back down to the core fundamentals, and have built on things gradually, but again this is the first elite challenge they will come up against.

This game will give us the real indication of where the Wallabies stand under Schmidt.

This might seem a bit of a cliché, but the set-piece war is going to determine the outcome of this game.

The scrum, in particular, will be a really intriguing facet of the game this weekend. The Wallabies made the scrum a genuine weapon against Wales and Georgia, and got plenty of change out of it both in terms of penalties and in general strike play too, but it could look very different this time out.

Schmidt has opted for an entirely new front-row unit to the one which played in July. Kailea is an impressive talent, but this will be a baptism of fire for him in the starting team against Malherbe. Faessler adds some form of continuity into the starting front-row, and whilst skipper Alaalatoa has plenty of Test experience, he hasn’t started alongside Faessler in the Gold jersey.

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The Springboks pack also come into this game with a point to prove. When on song, they are the best scrummaging unit in the world, but they couldn’t impose themselves on Ireland as much as they would have liked. Malherbe and Mbonambi in particular will need to bring their A-game with Malcom Marx and Vincent Koch waiting in the wings. They will be revved up to the max to show their genuine scrummaging quality, you would imagine.

Now to the lineout.

Again, the two-Test series against Ireland showed the Springboks have some work to do at the lineout. The selection of Louw at number eight is clearly an indication they want to shore this area up, and Etzebeth and Snyman will also add some stability to it, but Salakaia-Loto will look to put them under pressure and disrupt it. This could also limit the power up front, with the Boks maul being a key weapon in their attack.

The Brisbane curse is looming over the Springboks right now, and it could play a huge factor in the game. South Africa have only won twice at Suncorp Stadium since 1965, and their only victory against the Wallabies at the stadium came in 2013. This will undoubtedly give Schmidt’s side plenty of confidence, but it by no means guarantees victory.

If the Springboks walk away from Brisbane with the win, they will break their own torrid record, but can Australia make it yet another unsuccessful trip to Queensland?

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