Australia vs South Africa Predictions: Points on the agenda in Brisbane

The opening fixture of the 2024 Rugby Championship series sees the Boks travel to Brisbane to take on the Wallabies in what promises to be an enticing Test match in front of a sold out Suncorp crowd. 

As always we've asked our Rugby expert Alex Cox to give us his Australia vs South Africa Prediction and here is his full write-up.

The Aussies are still at the beginning of Schmidt’s redevelopment project but have kicked off his tenure with three wins from their Summer Internationals against the Welsh and the Georgians. There were promising signs within each of those three Test matches, however there are also still a number of questions marks as to what level this Aussie side are at currently. The South African’s are a few steps up in quality vs the 11^th and 12^th ranked sides that toured Australia last month so this Test match will reveal how far Schmidt’s side has come so far.

The Boks will likely be fairly disappointed with their Summer fixtures as losing to Ireland in Pretoria was not something on the script. Following that, they had a chance to give their wider squad a run against an energetic Portugese side, however the result of that Test match was never in doubt. They’ve now travelled to Brisbane which historically has been a challenging place to play, having won only three times in 16 visits. However Kolisi and his side will be looking to bounce back from the disappointing Ireland result and kickstart their Rugby Championship with a convincing performance.

The Wallabies looked better with ball-in-hand over the Summer however they were defensively exposed by far weaker sides and I’m expecting more of the same in Brisbane, meaning there should be points on show.

Team News: 

Australia

Joe Schmidt has made a few interesting selection calls for the Wallaby starting side that will welcome the Boks to Queensland on Saturday. The front-row will be Kailea, Faessler and Alaalatoa, with a few questioning where Angus Bell is. Salakaia-Loto seems to have locked in his second-row position and he’ll be partnered with Frost. One man Schmidt did not want to lose to injury was McReight but unfortunately he has a broken thumb meaning it will be Tizzano that will combine with Valentini on the Flank, and Wilson retains his place at no.8. Tizzano has been thrown into the deep end as he will make his International debut up against one of the best back-row’s in World Rugby.

Gordon and Lolesio are brought back into the starting half-back positions after an indifferent performance by Donaldson vs Georgia. Paisami and Ikitau remain as the midfield duo and will be in for a physical afternoon. Despite bringing Koroibete into his wider squad, Schmidt has opted to stick with his back-three of Daugunu, Kellaway and Wright. Wright has begun his return to the Wallabies in good form however will be tested aerially and on the ground by the Boks.

South Africa

The Boks have named a strong side to begin their Rugby Championship series, with plenty of experience and a few debutants. The front-row which will be hoping to give the Wallabies nightmares will be Nche, Mbonambi and Malherbe, with two monsters in the form of Etzebeth and RG Snyman behind them in the second-row. Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit will be on the flanks with a starting debut for Elrigh Louw at no.8. The Boks pack will certainly look to dominate the Wallabies and set the tone for the afternoon from the outset.

Reinach will start at scrum-half with Faf de Klerk out with an injury, with the speedster Grant Williams waiting in the wings to come off the bench and make an impact in the second half. The biggest surprise of the selection comes at fly-half with youngster Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezelu set to make his starting debut. He is an extremely skilful player packed full of creativity and will certainly cause the Wallaby defence a headache. De Allende and Kriel will be the reliable duo in the Centres, with Arendse and Kolbe out on the wings. Finally the masterful operator that is Willie le Roux will be at full-back.

Australia vs South Africa Odds

Australia are priced at 16/5 outsiders to win this game, with South Africa the heavy favourites at 1/4. A draw can be backed at 22/1.

Over 50.5 Total Points @ 5/6

With Sasha at fly-half I believe we’ll see the Boks chance their arm in attack. He plays flatter to the line than Pollard does and is a running threat that will keep the defence honest. Although I’m not expecting the Wallabies to win this game, I do think they’ll get opportunities to score and with an afternoon kick-off and 50,000 Queenslanders behind them, they should cross the line a few times to keep the scoreboard ticking up.

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