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The selections of Scott Higginbotham at the back of the scrum, and Nathan Sharpe in the second row, represent the two changes to the Qantas Wallabies starting XV which has been named today ahead of Saturday’s [Sunday morning, AEST] Castrol Edge Tri Nations Series match against South Africa in Durban.
Higginbotham and Sharpe take the places of Ben McCalman and Rob Simmons respectively as the Wallabies take on a much changed Springbok XV in the crunch Tri Nations encounter.
Despite last week’s 14-30 loss to New Zealand in Auckland, Australia remains a live chance of bagging the Tri Nations title for the first time in a decade, but must come away from King’s Park with championship points to keep that reality alive ahead of the final round match against New Zealand in Brisbane on August 27.
McCalman has been retained in the match night squad for the game, which kicks off at 1am Sunday morning [AEST], but Simmons has been rested in a straight swap for Sharpe.
The second row place on the bench has been taken by the damaging NSW Waratahs second rower Sitaleki Timani, who steps in for Dan Vickerman, who returned to Australia after last weekend’s Test in order to continue his comeback with a full eighty minutes of club play this weekend with Sydney University.
Queensland Reds No 8 Radike Samo also comes onto the bench, which has reverted to a five-forward two-back split, in the place of NSW Waratahs winger Lachie Turner.
“Rob has been troubled for a wee while now by a shoulder niggle. With so much rugby still to come this year, and a physically taxing afternoon in prospect, we thought it prudent to pull back on his involvement for now to allow his shoulder to rest up,” Qantas Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said, adding that Simmons was not in doubt for next week’s Rugby World Cup squad naming.
Sharpe returns after getting through a full match in club play last weekend for the University of Queensland, while Higginbotham has been rewarded with a maiden Test start after some rousing performances off the bench for the Wallabies in the opening three matches of the year.
Although he was involved in last year’s Tri Nations squad, being robbed of a possible Test debut when forced from the bench at late notice last year in Pretoria; Higginbotham had to wait until the last game of 2010 before finally taking his maiden Test bow as a Wallaby, during the 59-16 demolition of France in Paris at the end of the Spring Tour.
“Scott has made a genuine impact in each of his Test outings to date this year,” Deans noted, “and we’ll be looking for him to do the same from the start this week.”
A further change on the bench sees Brumbies prop Salesi Ma’afu enter for the first time this year, after missing the back end of Super Rugby due to a fractured arm, which was sustained against the Lions.
Ma’afu featured in 10 Tests during his maiden season as a Wallaby last year, starting in all six matches of last year’s Tri Nations series.
He has taken the bench position previously occupied by Pekahou Cowan.
“Salesi has worked hard to get back. The work he put in at our Gold Coast camp last week confirmed for us, on top of his medical clearance, that he is ready to go,” Deans said.
“He’s in good nick physically, has scrummed well in training and, most importantly, has been there before. Salesi knows what to expect in these types of contests. We will be looking for him to add value when he gets his chance.”
While the Australian starting line-up features nine of the players who started in last year’s thrilling 41-39 win over South Africa at Bloemfontein, which was the Wallabies’ second win in the Republic from three seasons, but Australia’s first at a high veldt venue in 47 years; the Springboks will still field a vastly more experienced outfit.
Last week, Australia faced the most experienced All Black line-up, in terms of collective caps, in history, and the Springbok group is tipped to similarly boast a record number of South African appearances when it is named later today.
“We saw last week that the All Blacks hit the ground running, with a group that featured a number of experienced players coming off a brief break, and the Springboks will be no different,” Deans said.
“We didn’t handle the opening onslaught in Auckland and that set us on the back foot for the remainder of the match. The South Africans won’t have missed that. More of the same will be coming. It is important we adapt better and get ourselves into the contest from the start.”
This weekend’s match will be refereed by Bryce Lawrence of New Zealand.
The Qantas Wallabies team to play South Africa in the Castrol Edge Tri Nations Rugby Test at King’s Park in Durban on Saturday night (kick-off: 1am, Sunday morning, AEST) is:
15. Kurtley Beale (NSW Waratahs)
14. James O’Connor (Western Force)
13. Adam Ashley-Cooper (Brumbies)
12. Pat McCabe (Brumbies)
11. Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds)
10. Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds)
9. Will Genia (Queensland Reds)
8. Scott Higginbotham (Queensland Reds)
7. David Pocock (Western Force)
6. Rocky Elsom (Brumbies, captain)
5. James Horwill (Queensland Reds)
4. Nathan Sharpe (Western Force)
3. Ben Alexander (Brumbies)
2. Stephen Moore (Brumbies)
1. Sekope Kepu (NSW Waratahs)
Run on Reserves:
16. Saia Fainga’a (Queensland Reds)
17. Salesi Ma’afu (Brumbies)
18. Sitaleki Timani (NSW Waratahs)
19. Ben McCalman (Western Force)
20. Radike Samo (Queensland Reds)
21. Luke Burgess (NSW Waratahs)
22. Anthony Fainga’a (Queensland Reds)
Australia v South Africa @ Durban – Historical Notes
- This will be the 76th meeting between Australia and South Africa at all venues. Australia has won 30 and South Africa 44, while one match has been drawn.
- Just nine of Australia’s previous wins have been attained on South African soil, with the Springboks taking the other 30 matches that have been played.
- Australia first appeared in a Test in Durban in 1933, beating South Africa 21-6 at the nearby Kingsmead Ground which is better known as the city’s venue for international cricket. This was the only defeat South Africa suffered from the five Tests it played at that ground.
- Saturday night will be the 27th Test played by South Africa at King’s Park, which includes the 1995 Rugby World Cup semi-final where the Springboks scored a dramatic victory over France. Heading into the weekend, South Africa has returned 16 wins, seven losses and three draws at the ground.
- Australia and South Africa have met on six previous occasions in Durban and are tied three wins apiece. Australia won in 1933 (21-6), 2000 (19-18) and most recently in 2008 (27-15), while South Africa claimed the honours in 1953 (18-8), 1969 (16-9) and 2004 (23-19).
- Two of the three wins achieved by Australia on South African soil through the professional era in the Tri Nations [1996-2011] have been claimed in Durban.
- King’s Park is one of three international sports venues in the Durban sport’s precinct, being flanked on either side by the Kingsmead Test Cricket Ground and the new Moses Mabhida Stadium. The latter opened last year for the Football World Cup, hosting a number of matches, including the 1-0 semi-final victory by Spain over Germany.
- Ex-Wallaby skipper Stirling Mortlock, who kicked the winning penalty goal in 2000, was the only Australian player to feature in both Tri Nations wins achieved in Durban.
- Last year’s dramatic success in Bloemfontein was just Australia’s third win away from home from its last 23 away Tri Nations matches, and only its ninth win from 39 matches played on South African soil.
- The win at Bloemfontein made Robbie Deans the first Australian coach to win two matches on South African soil during the professional era (1996-2010).
- Flyhalf Morne Steyn set a Tri Nations record when he scored all 31 of South Africa’s points during the 31-19 success against New Zealand at Durban in 2009.
- The Bulls sharpshooter has landed his last 18 goals in a row against Australia and kicked 29 out of 29 during last year’s tournament.
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Was the wait worth it - Ya betta baby 
player now so we should keep an open mind. Or blindly support him. Whatever.
Originally Posted by Alex
