South Africa’s formidable bench will be central to the Wallabies’ challenge when the teams meet in Perth on Sunday, although the familiar “bomb squad” label may not quite apply to a traditional five-forwards, three-backs split.
Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche, Wilco Louw, Lood de Jager, Jasper Wiese, Morne van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Quan Horn give Rassie Erasmus a powerful group of replacements. All apart from Horn played significant roles in South Africa’s 3-1 series victory over New Zealand.
The Springboks have previously used six-two or seven-one benches weighted heavily towards forwards. This time, the more conventional selection means the terminology is open to debate, but the impact of the replacements is unlikely to be diminished.
Van den Berg is emerging as an answer to one of the few questions surrounding the Springboks: whether they have a scrum-half capable of matching the quality elsewhere in the team. He is expected to enter the Perth Test around 10 minutes into the second half and could inject fresh urgency into the contest.
Wiese will win his 50th cap and arrives after an outstanding four-Test series against the All Blacks. His powerful carries have repeatedly taken South Africa beyond the gain line, with Eben Etzebeth and Marx among those maintaining the pressure as New Zealand’s forwards attempted to make tackles.
The Wallabies have shown encouraging signs under Les Kiss, while Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s selection on the wing represents another change from the Joe Schmidt era. Suaalii’s aerial ability could also challenge one of South Africa’s principal strengths.
Even so, Australia face a markedly different examination to those provided by Argentina and Japan, as well as the challenges encountered earlier in the year in Super Rugby. South Africa’s approach is built on forceful carrying and a disciplined effort to defend the advantage line.
The Springboks’ physicality also brings them close to the limits of legal technique, but their tackling has been carefully honed. Pieter-Steph du Toit, who is unavailable in Perth, repeatedly demonstrated during the series against New Zealand that a tall player can still tackle low and legally.
South Africa’s success has come despite the wider difficulties confronting club rugby, with the United Rugby Championship reporting its second-highest attendance in 2025-26 while acknowledging that the figure was below the previous season. The competition has also changed how it presents its audience figures, moving towards total viewing hours across television, streaming and digital highlights.
The Wallabies nevertheless have a realistic opportunity to trouble the visitors. Erasmus has acknowledged that South Africa have historically found Australia awkward opponents, while Rob Valetini offers the Wallabies a powerful presence at flanker.
With Wiese’s milestone, van den Berg’s expected arrival from the bench and Suaalii’s threat in the air, the Perth Test will provide a significant measure of Australia’s progress under Kiss and another test of the Springboks’ relentless formula.
