Wallabies name side for Loftus clash

Cape Town - Sean McMahon will start at No 8 for the Wallabies in Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test against the Springboks in Pretoria.

McMahon replaced David Pocock, who was ruled out of the tournament with a hand injury.

It is the only change to the Australian starting lineup from the team that beat Argentina 36-20 in Perth earlier this month.

The last time McMahon started for the Wallabies was the third and final Test against England in Sydney.

With Pocock set to take a sabbatical from rugby in 2017, Wallaby coach Michael Cheika believes McMahon may be the long-term answer at No 8.

"There's definitely an opportunity (to be a long-term No.8),” Cheika told the Sydney Morning Herald. “There's a few guys there that will be in the mix. Ben McCalman is getting some footy under his belt, Lopeti (Timani), there's a few other players that we've got our eye on, but at the moment he's playing in the Test so he's going to be the front runner."

Cheika will name his bench on Friday, with Saturday's Test at Loftus Versfeld scheduled for 17:05.

Teams:

Springboks

TBA

Wallabies

15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Bernard Foley, 11 Reece Hodge, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dean Mumm, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Adam Coleman, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (captain), 1 Scott Sio

Substitutes (from): 16 James Hanson, 17 James Slipper, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Scott Fardy, 21 Lopeti Timani, 22 Nick Phipps, 23 Tevita Kuridrani, 24 Sefa Naivalu