Although the Springboks won’t be action again until mid-August, there is at least some other high-profile rugby entertainment to keep an eye on as the Wallabies tackle the British & Irish Lions in the second Test.
Kick off is at 12:00 (SA time) in Melbourne this Saturday.
The home team need a victory to keep the series alive, and they have welcomed back loose forward Rob Valetini, hooker David Porecki and lock Will Skelton to bolster the pack in hopes of reversing the opening Test 27-19 defeat in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, for the Lions, tour captain Maro Itoje of Saracens and England’s is partnered at lock by his fellow countryman and Leicester Tigers forward Ollie Chessum. In the front row its the Leinster Rugby and Ireland trio of Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong.
The back row sees Leinster and Ireland’s Jack Conan at No.8, Munster and Ireland’s Tadhg Beirne at blindside and Sale Sharks and England’s Tom Curry at openside. Leinster and Ireland’s Jamison Gibson-Park and Bath Rugby and Scotland’s Finn Russell are named as the halfback pairing again.
Connacht Rugby and Ireland’s Bundee Aki is partnered with Glasgow Warriors and Scotland’s Huw Jones in midfield, while the combination of Leinster and Ireland duo Hugo Keenan and James Lowe, and Northampton Saints and England’s Tommy Freeman is unchanged from the first Test.
TEAM LINE-UPS AS THE WALLABIES AND BRITISH & IRISH LIONS GO INTO BATTLE AGAIN:
Australia: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Tom Lynagh, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 David Porecki, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Billy Pollard, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Carlo Tizzano, 22 Tate McDermott, 23 Ben Donaldson.
British and Irish Lions: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje (captain), 3 Tadgh Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan, 1 Andrew Porter.
Replacements: 16 Ronan Kelleher, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 James Ryan, 20 Jac Morgan, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Blair Kinghorn.
Date: Saturday, 26 July
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Kick-off: 12:00 (SA time)
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
WHAT IS YOUR SCORE PREDICTION?
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