Image copyright: Getty Images
2023 Rugby Championship
South Africa v Australia
Loftus Versfeld
Pretoria, South Africa
Saturday, 8 July 2023
Kick-off is at 17h05
South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber is looking to make a good start against Australia in the
2023 Rugby Championship at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday in order to set the tone for their season.
The Springboks narrowly missed out on the title in 2022 after finishing a point behind champions New Zealand in second place, having won four of their six matches.
With the 2023 World Cup just two months away, Nienaber wants to build momentum for the world champions' campaign in France and highlighted the importance of starting strongly against the Wallabies.
Nienaber's team played both of their matches in Australia last year and finally halted a winless streak on the continent dating back to 2013 with a 24-8 victory in Sydney after being beaten 25–17 in Adelaide the previous weekend.
Duane Vermeulen will have the honour of captaining South Africa for the third time as Siya Kolisi is ruled out through injury. Canan Moodie will feature in the backline again, having scored a fabulous solo try on his debut against the Aussies in their last meeting.
Image copyright: Getty Images
Jean Kleyn is set to earn his first cap for the Springboks, while Manie Libbok and Marco van Staden will make their first starts after numerous appearances off the bench previously.
Nienaber expects another fierce battle with the opposition, saying: "They are a top-class team and have a great tactician in head coach Eddie Jones.
"This will be the first time we see them play under his leadership in a while, so our focus is mainly on our game and what we would like to do in the match.
"This game is very important to set the tone for us this season, and we know that regardless of what style of play Australia dishes up it's going to a physical and hard match."
Image copyright: Getty Images
Australia's record in Mzansi doesn't make for good reading, with their last victory coming on 13 August 2011 in a low-scoring match (14-9) at Kings Park in Durban.
They've lost six of their subsequent seven outings on the southern tip of Africa, the other being a 27–27 draw in Bloemfontein on 30 September 2017.
Michael Hooper will co-skipper the team alongside James Slipper, while Tom Hooper is set to make his Test debut and Suliasi Vunivalu earns a first start after winning one cap previously.
Quade Cooper returns to the starting line-up at half-back, having made a full recovery from a ruptured Achilles.
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has urged his players to make history in Pretoria as they go in search of a first win in 12 years.
"As a squad, the players have worked extremely hard since coming together as a group, and we've prepared well this week," Jones said.
"The 23 players selected have an opportunity to be part of history with a win over South Africa in Pretoria on Saturday night."
Head-to-Head:
Matches - 92
South Africa - 49
Australia - 40
Draws - 3
Place your rugby bets when you want & how you want
Whether you’re a Super Rugby fan keeping an eye on the top clubs in the world, a supporter of the Six Nations or perhaps prefer a southern hemisphere standoff in the The Rugby Championship, Betway South Africa is the perfect place for you to start betting on Rugby. So log in now or register a new account to start your online rugby betting adventure with Betway.
For all the latest sports news, betting tips and promotions follow Betway on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Download the Betway App.