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Friday deadline for Etzebeth

Cape Town - Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth will be given time to recover from illness as the team prepares to face the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday.

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Etzebeth was on Wednesday included in the Springbok starting team for the clash at Suncorp Stadium, but according to the SA Rugbymag website, team management is at this stage uncertain of his availability for Saturday's Test.

Coach Heyneke Meyer confirmed that Etzebeth is still battling flu and that he will be given until Friday to recover.

Should Etzebeth be ruled out, Flip van der Merwe will move to No 4 and Juandré Kruger will come back into the starting side. In that scenario, Willem Alberts will cover lock, and Marcell Coetzee will be promoted to the match-day 23.

The Springboks have never beaten Australia at Suncorp Stadium. The only two previous wins against Australia in Brisbane were at the Exhibition Ground (in 1956 and 1971). Their only win at the Suncorp Stadium was when they beat Samoa 60-10 on 1 November, 2003 during the Rugby World Cup. 

Kick-off is at 12:05 (SA time) on Saturday.

Teams:

Australia:

15 Israel Folau, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Adam-Ashley Cooper, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 James O'Connor, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper

Substitutes: 16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Jake Schatz, 21 Nic White, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Jesse Mogg

South Africa:

15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Willie le Roux, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.

Substitutes: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Juandré Kruger, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein

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