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New Australia head coach Joe Schmidt will get an opportunity to see how his side fare against one of the best in the business when they face South Africa in their 2024 Rugby Championship opener on Saturday.
The world champions South Africa will head to Brisbane looking to make it three wins on the bounce against the Wallabies.
Springboks sides have come unstuck on Austalian soil in the past and Schmidt will be hoping his side can stun the pre-tournament favourites at Suncorp Stadium.
. What: Australia v South Africa
. Where: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
. When: 14:45 (AEST), Saturday 10th August
. How to watch: Stan Sport
. Odds: Australia 4.00, South Africa 1.25
Wallabies must rise to the challenge
Australia have a decent recent record on home soil against the South Africans, winning three of their last four games but this Springboks side is one of the best the country has ever produced.
Meanwhile the Wallabies are not the side they once were and collecting the wooden spoon in the Rugby Championship last year shows the scale of the task ahead of Schmidt.
It's going to take some time to rebuild this Wallabies side after the disappointing tenure of previous head coach Eddie Jones, with Australia less than convincing in their summer wins over recent Six Nations strugglers Wales and also Georgia.
Looking to bring the next generation through, Schmidt has named Carlo Tizzano in the back-row for his Test debut.
Allan Alaalatoa will again captain the side for this big game, whole Jake Gordon and Noah Lolesio have been given the nod in the halfbacks.
Tate McDermott and Tom Lynach are the replacement halfback, while Luke Reimer is also set to make his Test debut on a youthful subs bench.
Five of the eight substitutes for Saturday have three caps or less, which just shows how Schmidt is trying to bring through the next crop of players.
As expected, Australia are 4.00 underdogs going into this game against a South Africa side that will feel like they have a point to prove in this competition.
Boks hope to make statement in Brisbane
While South Africa have won the last two World Cups in 2019 and 2023, the Boks have been unable to transfer that global success to Rugby Championship titles.
This proud rugby nation have won just one title in the last 14 of this competition in its formats of the Tri-Nations and the Rugby Championship.
The All Blacks have been the dominant force with seven titles in the last eight tournaments, but South Africa are this year's pre-competition favourites.
The Springboks have made just three changes to the 23-man squad that faced Ireland last time out, with Elrigh Louw, Cobus Reinach and replacement Ben-Jason Dixon being brought in,
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Louw will make their first Test starts for the Boks on Saturday.
South Africa have won the last two meetings between these sides, including a 43-12 victory in their most recent encounter at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
The Boks are 1.25 to make a winning start in Brisbane on Saturday, while the visitors are 1.90 with -9 in the Line market.
Star winger Cheslin Kolbe is certainly a player to look out for in the Anytime Tryscorer market at 2.00 to go over for the Boks.
