There’s only one player in the Wallabies squad chosen to battle the world champs in Brisbane that readers consider to be of Springbok quality.
The teams launch the 2024 Rugby Championship on Saturday at Suncorp Stadium where the Boks have won once in 12 Tests dating back to 1997.
It’s the first time Joe Schmidt will take on South Africa as Wallabies coach, and the renowned Kiwi coach has assembled a squad that includes many survivors of Australia’s disappointing 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign, which featured them in pool losses against Fiji and Wales en route to an early flight Down Under.
Australia’s starting pack includes five players with fewer than 20 Test caps to their name, while six players on the bench have yet to play 10 Test matches.
Meanwhile, the back-to-back world champion Boks were able to deploy the most experienced lineup in team history during a two-Test series against Ireland in July.
Poll: Which Wallabies are better than Boks?
Readers were tasked with identifying the players in the Wallabies matchday-23 who they think are hypothetically good enough to earn a place in the current Bok squad on the merit.
Almost 50% of respondents wrote off the entire Wallabies squad as being below Bok standard, but the one player who did catch a few clicks was Brumbies thumper Rob Valetini.
The 25-year-old, who made his Test debut in 2019 and has been deployed at blindside flank for his 42nd Wallaby cap, received a 15% vote of confidence to fight for a place in the Bok back row.
Despite South Africa’s woeful record at the Suncorp, the perceived chasm in quality between these two squads makes it surprising that the bookies have installed the Boks as only 11-point favourites to beat the Wallabies.
Photo: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
