Key Battles: Springboks v Wallabies

The last three encounters between South Africa have certainly been close with Australia winning the most recent clash between the two sides while the other two games last year in draws.

Each small battle won by either side will certainly get them closer to victory.

The Beast v the Tongan Thor

A real battle between the veteran and the new kid on the block with Tendai Mtawarira earning his 106th test cap and his 20th against the Wallabies while Taniela Tupou runs out for his first test start.

Michael Chieka was reluctant to give Tupou his first test start but the youngster forced his hand in training when he got one over the more senior members of the squad during their scrum practice.

Set piece dominance goes a long way in close encounters with Tupou forcing a late penalty against a Springboks feed to a scrum the last time these two sides met which meant the Wallabies held onto their lead.

The Breakdown

It's almost impossible not to mention the breakdown with these two sides facing off with the Wallabies possessing arguably the best breakdown specialist in World Rugby with David Pocock while the Springboks have made more turnover than any other side so far in the competition. 

The Springboks certainly have players to counter David Pocock's impact with Malcolm Marx, who topped the turnover chart during the Super Rugby season, while Siya Kolisi has made tremendous improvements in that area of his game. 

Folau Faingaa and Michael Hooper are also threats that the Springbok pack will need to counter.

Impact off the bench

Recent encounters between these two sides have been decided in the final ten minutes of the encounter.

Meaning the side that the side that makes the most of their bench could walk away with the win.

The Springboks have a more inexperienced bench with the likes of RG Snyman, Marco van Staaden and Damian Willemse while the Wallabies have a lot of experience with Sekope Kepu, Rob Simmons, Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley.

The 10/12 Battle

The two sides line up with two contrasting combinations at flyhalf and inside centre this weekend.

The Springboks have gone with the traditional Springbok combination with a classic flyhalf and strong ball carrying inside centre while the Wallabies have gone with two playmakers in Kurtley Beale and Matt Toomua.

Handre Pollard controlled the game well against the All Blacks in the last round while Andre Esterhuizen comes into the starting line up following Damian de Allende's injury.

The Springbok pair are both strong in defence and both carry the ball hard to line while Beale and Toomua would rather look to put others into space.

Both combinations have worked for their respective sides in past and the combination that can implement their approach to the game better should give their side the edge.