Stick and Kolisi are expecting Boks’ toughest match of the season against the Wallabies

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick and captain Siya Kolisi said on Friday their Castle Lager Rugby Championship opener against the Wallabies at Ellis Park on Saturday would be their toughest Test so far this season but they were confident the team were at the level they needed to be going into the encounter.

Australia have never defeated the Springboks at the iconic Johannesburg stadium but this did not cloud the duo’s expectation that it would be a battle of attrition. The match kicks off at 5.10pm and will be broadcast live on SuperSport.

“This is going to be a bigger game than what which we have faced so far this season,” said Stick.

“We are fully aware of the challenge ahead and we know how dangerous Australia are in the set-pieces and with ball in hand. They played well in their last two matches against the British & Irish Lions, losing the second Test in the last few minutes, while they won the last match, so it’s going to be a big battle.”

Kolisi also expected Australia to throw everything at them and said it would be remiss to underestimate the importance of these two matches and look ahead to their tour to New Zealand, where they will face the All Blacks in Auckland and Wellington.

“The talk in our camp has solely been on Australia,” said Kolisi. “We saw how they played against the British & Irish Lions and we’ve been in the position they are now in the past, so it would be foolish to think that they won’t throw everything at us.

“We are certainly not thinking about the New Zealand matches now.”

Kolisi shrugged off the favourites tag going into the encounter: “We don’t think of such things. For us, it’s all about our standards and after looking back at our last four matches, we’ve worked hard to ensure that we are at the level we need to be going into this match.”

The Bok skipper, who will earn his 94th Test cap on Saturday, will his start his first Test at No 8 this week after usually packing down on the side of the scrum in the No 6 jumper, and he looked forward to the opportunity.

“My role will change slightly in the line-outs and the scrums but other than that I’ll be fulfilling my usual role,” Kolisi said.

“Playing No 8 at the Hollywoodbets Sharks certainly helped me, although the role here is different. I’m also not the same type of player as Jasper (Wiese) or a former Bok No 8 Duane (Vermeulen) in terms of my size, so I’m going to give what I can offer.”

Kolisi added: “The breakdowns are going to be a big area of the game, so myself, Marco (van Staden) and Pieter-Steph (du Toit) have an important job, although that said, the breakdowns are a team effort.”

Commenting on the enforced change to the Springbok squad with Boan Venter replacing Jan-Hendrik Wessels as prop cover on the replacements bench, Stick said: “Jan took a knock at training and we didn’t want to risk him for this match. Boan has been with us for several weeks now and he is fitting into the structures well. He also has a good relationship with Daan (Human – Springbok assistant coach) in terms of what is expected, so this is a great opportunity for him.”

Springbok starting XV: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse; 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams; 8 Siya Kolisi (capt), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden; 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth; 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Canan Moodie, 23 Damian Willemse.

Wallaby starting XV: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch; 10 James O'Connor, 9 Nic White; 8 Harry Wilson (capt), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Tom Hooper; 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost; 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 James Slipper. Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Andrew Kellaway.

South Africa v Australia - Saturday @ Emirates Airline Park (5.10pm)

Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (NZR)

Assistant Referees: James Doleman (NZR), Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)

Television Match Official: Tual Trainini (FFR)

FPRO: Richard Kelly (NZR)

Broadcast: SuperSport Rugby