Allister Coetzee will need to consider making calculated personnel changes as the Boks aim to maintain a proud home record against the Wallabies, writes CRAIG LEWIS in Bloemfontein.

The Boks slipped into the city of roses on Sunday, having had more than a week to digest what went wrong during their 57-0 thrashing at the hands of the All Blacks on 16 September.

They will insist they’ve put that result behind them, but simply cannot afford to head into Saturday’s penultimate Rugby Championship clash without at least addressing some key problem areas.

While many may have expected more squad changes, the dropping of Francois Hougaard and inclusion of talented youngster S’bu Nkosi does point to the fact that the problems at halfback and out wide against the All Blacks did not go unnoticed.

The good news for the Boks is that first-choice scrumhalf Ross Cronjé should be over the illness that kept him out of the clash against the All Blacks, with his return to No 9 sure to add a bit more fluidity to the Springboks’ play.

While that is one automatic selection presuming Cronjé is back to full fitness, it now remains to be seen whether Coetzee will make notable changes out wide.

Virtually to a fault, the Bok coach has remained fiercely loyal to his originally-selected players, but Raymond Rhule surely exhausted his final lifeline during a horror showing against the All Blacks, where he missed as many as nine tackles.

Considering Dillyn Leyds has spent an extended period of time with the Boks since June, he must be the frontrunner to replace Rhule and make his run-on debut, albeit potentially in the less familiar right wing position.

Throughout his tenure, Coetzee generally has erred on the side of conservative selections, which suggests it’s unlikely that Nkosi will be rushed straight into frontline action after only just joining the squad.

Should he impress the coaches sufficiently, though, he may emerge as a darkhorse to start in place of Courtnall Skosan, who has battled with inconsistency in the Rugby Championship.

Among the forwards, the recall of Francois Louw from England points to another change in the loose trio, with the Boks clearly seeing the need to introduce another experienced campaigner to the team.

Should Louw start at openside flank, Siya Kolisi would be expected to move to No 7, with Uzair Cassiem and Jean-Luc du Preez possibly vying for the No 8 jersey.

Similarly, consideration will need to be given to whether Pieter-Steph du Toit or Franco Mostert should be entrusted with the No 5 jersey, while Wilco Louw or Trevor Nyakane may well be considered ahead of Ruan Dreyer at tighthead prop.

Whatever the case may be, the Boks do head into Saturday’s encounter with recent history on their side, having won their last four games against Australia in South Africa, while keeping the visitors to 10 points or fewer in each of those four fixtures.

The team to face Australia will be named on Thursday at 14:00.

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Photo: Michael Sheehan/Gallo Images