The Wallabies will turn to a veteran halves pairing of two 35-year-olds to launch their Rugby Championship campaign against world champions South Africa, amidst growing uncertainty about the future of the southern hemisphere’s premier competition.
Saturday’s clash at Ellis Park marks a pivotal moment for an Australian side rebuilding from a 2023 World Cup pool stage exit. After a spirited series loss to the British & Irish Lions, which saw them avoid a whitewash, the Wallabies now confront the formidable challenge of defeating the Springboks on South African soil—a feat they have not achieved since 2011.
Injuries have forced coach Joe Schmidt’s hand, leading to a selection with a clear short-term focus. He convinced 35-year-old scrum-half Nic White to postpone his international retirement and has recalled fly-half James O’Connor, also 35, for his first Test appearance since 2022. The remainder of the starting lineup is unchanged from the team that defeated the Lions in Sydney.
Schmidt explained that the initial plan was to use Ben Donaldson, but the coaching staff felt O’Connor’s experience was better suited for the challenge. “We felt that James was best served, and the team was best served, by James getting enough reps during the week,” Schmidt said. Donaldson’s subsequent training injury, which ruled him out, made O’Connor’s presence “fortuitous,” according to the coach. This follows a period where Donaldson has fallen in the fly-half pecking order, now behind a player who had limited Super Rugby game time this season before a move to Leicester.
The selection of a throwback halves pairing seems fitting for a tournament that may itself be heading for the history books. The Rugby Championship will not be held next year, as a new international tournament featuring Ireland and France is set to be integrated into Australia’s home schedule. Furthermore, New Zealand and South Africa are prioritising a separate All Blacks tour, while the 2027 World Cup and another Springboks tour of New Zealand in 2030 will also take precedence, leaving the future of the competition Australia last won in 2015 in serious doubt.
The Wallabies, however, are focused on the immediate threat. South Africa enters the match in dominant form, having lost just twice—by a single point on both occasions—since winning the 2023 World Cup. Their recent warm-up games saw decisive victories over Italy and Georgia. Coach Schmidt anticipates a major challenge, particularly from the Springboks’ set-piece and kick-chase game. “On any turnover or any bit of space they get, they’ve got lethal finishers,” he noted.
Despite the daunting task, the Wallabies are looking forward to the fast, dry conditions at Ellis Park after a series of wet-weather games against the Lions. The venue, site of the 1995 World Cup final, has been a fortress against Australian teams, who have not won there since 1963. However, fullback Tom Wright downplayed the historical pressure.
“It’s been spoken about in terms of how cool it would be to be able to break that drought,” he said. “But, is it any more special than any other game we’re preparing for? Not particularly, no.”
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