Preview - South Africa v Australia

There is a lot on this game. It may not mean anything as far as the Tri-Nations as a competition is concerned but it is after all a Test between South Africa and Australia, something that was going on with great enthusiasm decades before Tri-Nations was born.

JP Pietersen: Has he shaken off the cobwebs?

There are incentives beyond the match, liking putting a dent in history's smoothness, which for the Wallabies would mean winning on the Highveld for the first time since 1963. In answer to that, the Springboks will want to keep their altitudinous fortress intact.

But really it is about the game itself - proud nation against proud nation in eager competition.

That probably means more than individual aspirations - just to win and to keep winning.

The Wallabies have beaten the Springboks twice this year - once in a thrashing and once by the skin of their teeth. But they lost three times to the All Blacks, whom the Springboks beat last week.

Last week was tough. It brought the relief of ending a losing streak and restoring some credibility as a top rugby nation. The Springboks saved themselves of taking over from the 1964-65 Springboks as having the worst-ever losing streak. Victory was sweet. It may have been last-minute and by only a point, but it was as fulfilling as a victory can be and, too boot, it was against the mighty, super-confident, multi-talented All Blacks.

Team will be the focus but there are still individual performances which will attract attention.

Players to watch: The sides each have a new cap - fullback JP Pietersen of South Africa and prop Benn Robinson of Australia. Pietersen, from a famous rugby family in Stellenbosch, takes the position Percy Montgomery held for years and years. He is young, fast and adventurous but the truth is that he has played little rugby of late, spending most of his time watching other people play. Will light rust have set in to his young mind and body? Is really better than the current Western Province full-back wonder, Gio Aplon, who is certainly not rusty?

At the other end of the age line, you may want to see if George Gregan, who has meant so much to rugby football, really is passé. You may also want to see if AJ Venter really has a lot to offer in a loose trio which coach Jake White is said to have got right "by accident". In fact the loose trio may really have been the Blue Bull duo of Pedrie Wannenburg and Pierre Spies.

Benn Robinson, young and promising, has the tough task of proving that Wallabies can scrum. The Springbok scrum has not been rampant but it should be good enough to put pressure on the Wallabies and there was a scrum or two last week when new man BJ Botha was able to make an All Black struggle. Botha is new and good. And so is Robinson.

Head to Head:  There are several interesting match-ups. There is front row against front row - two experienced South Africans, one experienced Wallaby as the Australians try to put a stop in the mouths of their detractors at scrum time.

The clash between the two excellent sets of centres is also a fascinating prospect, as is the tussle in the line-outs. There has been nothing in it this year. Australia have lost four out of 33 line-outs to South Africa, South Africa three out of 31 to Australia.

André Pretorius had a great match last week, up against the great Dan Carter. This week he has another great challenge up against experienced if rather more flappable Stephen Larkham.

Then there is an interesting match-up of two bit-part players - Wynand Olivier who is playing on the wing for the first time and the great finisher Cameron Shepherd who is in because Lote Tuqiri is out for disciplinary reasons.

Prediction: After getting the predictions remakably wrong in the last two weeks of Tri-Nations, our confidence is at a low as we go for a third. This time we shall stick with history and say that the Springboks, so improved from Brisbane to Sydney, will be even better at home and win by ten.

Recent results:

2006: Australia won 20-18 in Sydney
2006: Australia won 49-0 in Brisbane
2005: South Africa won 22-19 in Perth
2005: South Africa won 22-16 in Pretoria
2005: South Africa won 33-20 in Johannesburg
2005: Australia won 30-12 in Sydney
2004: South Africa won 23-19 in Durban
2004: Australia won 30-26 in Perth
2003: Australia won 29-9 in Brisbane
2003: South Africa won 26-22 at Newlands
2002: South Africa won 33-31 in Johannesburg
2002: Australia won 38-27 in Brisbane
2001: Draw 14-14 in Perth
2001: South Africa won 20-15 in Pretoria
2000: Australia won 19-18 in Durban
2000: Australia won 26-6 in Sydney
2000: Australia won 44-23 in Melbourne

Teams:

South Africa: 15 JP Pietersen, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Wynand Olivier, 10 André Pretorius, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 7 AJ Venter, 6 Pierre Spies, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Johann Muller, 3 BJ Botha, 2 John Smit, 1 Os du Randt.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Lawrence Sephaka, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Jacques Cronjé, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James, 22 Breyton Paulse.

Australia: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Clyde Rathbone, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Cameron Shepherd, 10 Stephen Larkham, 9 George Gregan (captain), 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Rodney Blake, 2 Jeremy Paul, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Tai McIsaac, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Mark Chisholm, 19 George Smith, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Mark Gerrard, 22 Scott Staniforth.

Date: Saturday, September 9 2006
Kick-off: 15:00 (13:00 GMT)
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Expected weather conditions: Clear with a high of 21°C, dropping to 8°C and a light wind - a perfect day for rugby.
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Alan Lewis (Ireland), Hugh Watkins (Wales)
Television match official: Eric Darrière (France)
Assessor: Michel Lamoulie (France)

By Paul Dobson