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Bloemfontein - Springbok captain Eben Etzebeth is confident that the lineout issues that plagued his side in Australasia have been dealt withtouh.
The Boks, historically very good in that department, struggled against Australia in Perth and then New Zealand in Albany.
The Boks lost 4 of their own lineouts in their 23-23 draw against the Wallabies and then 5 in their 57-0 thumping at the hands of the All Blacks two weekends ago.
Even more concerning was that a number of the butchered lineouts were not down to execution, but a lack of communication.
READ: DEEP DOWN I KNEW I'D BE BACK - CHILIBOY
Bok coach Allister Coetzee has brought Chiliboy Ralepelle onto the bench for Saturday's Rugby Championship clash against the Wallabies in Bloemfontein, and if Malcolm Marx struggles to find his jumpers again then Coetzee will be able to turn to a hooker who is known for his accuracy at lineout time.
Etzebeth, though, was not playing the blame game and he said on Friday that the problems at lineout time had been addressed.
"It didn’t go that well. It’s something we’ve worked on and we are confident it will come right this week," the skipper said.
"t was a combined thing. It wasn’t just one guy calling or one guy lifting … it just didn’t work on the day. We’re not pointing fingers at anyone.
"We said we’re going to take the option that’s on this weekend, so that's what we'll do."
Etzebeth acknowledged that it had been a "tough week" following what was the worst loss in the history of Springbok rugby, but he said the Boks had put that result to one side and were fully focused on the Wallabies.
"It’s just another Test match which we’re looking forward to," he said.
"It’s very important to win this one.
"It’s been a tough week to get over that result, but we said we need to set that behind us. The preparation has gone well so far this week.
"We’ll be looking to bounce back this weekend. The guys are really excited."
Etzebeth will earn his 62nd Test cap when he leads the Boks out on Saturday.
Kick-off is at 17:05.
Teams:
South Africa
15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Dillyn Leyds, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Francois Louw, 6, Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth (captain), 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Substitutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Damian de Allende
Australia
15 Israel Folau, 14 Marika Koroibete, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Reece Hodge, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Jack Dempsey, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Scott Sio
Substitutes (from): 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Tom Robertson, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Lukhan Tui, 21 Ned Hanigan, 22 Nick Phipps, 23 Samu Kerevi, 24 Henry Speight
