Pollard poised to return against Australia

Perth’s Optus Stadium, on Saturday September 27, is not a postscript to Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry. It is a preview of the 2027 World Cup.

The timing of a one-off Test against the Wallabies is far from ideal, but the relevance is enormous.

The 2027 World Cup is in Australia. The Springbok s are in Pool B and the All Blacks and Wallabies in Pool A. If the Boks and All Blacks win their pools and their respective round-of-16 matches, they will meet in the quarterfinals.

But New Zealand are not guaranteed to win Pool A. Australia are the hosts, and — should Les Kiss’s team finish first — it will be Australia rather than New Zealand waiting in South Africa’s quarterfinal lane.

Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus was measured when the draw created the possibility of a World Cup quarter-final against the All Blacks. “I don’t know if it’s a benefit or a bad thing, the two top-ranked teams playing each other in a quarterfinal,” he said.

“I can’t say that I’m disappointed or that I’m glad about that. We’ll see how things develop.”

The Perth Test gives the Boks another experience of the travel, stadium, crowd and Australian rugby environment they will encounter when chasing an unprecedented third successive world title.

South Africa do not need reminding of the danger of the Wallabies, who came from 22-0 down to beat the Boks 38-22 at Ellis Park in 2025 before the Boks — inspired by Handré Pollard’s 15 points — won at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town.

Erasmus did not hide from that humiliation. “They tactically outsmarted us and physically dominated us,” he said.

Erasmus has indicated that the 23 facing Australia will look different from the group that finished the Greatest Rivalry Series in Baltimore, US, in the early hours today.

Rotation in match-squad selections was inevitable after a month of brutal collisions, but it is also consistent with Erasmus’s World Cup planning.

I don’t know if it’s a benefit or a bad thing, the two top-ranked teams playing each other in a quarter-final

When he made 10 changes between successive Tests against the Wallabies in Australia in 2024, he rejected any suggestion of disrespect. “This is us picking a team that we feel is good enough to still get us the win, although it will be really, really tough against a team that wants to bounce back [from a 33-7 defeat in Brisbane],” he said.

“It’s important to win the Rugby Championship and it’s important to build into the next World Cup.”