Wallabies centre Len Ikitau is hoping a return to Optus Stadium can bring the best out of their attack as they prepare for the Springboks.
The Wallabies enjoy a strong record at the new ground, losing just once in 2021 against the All Blacks.
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This includes a thrilling 2022 win over England which saw the Australians overcome Quade Cooper’s late withdrawal, Darcy Swain’s red card, Allan Alaalatoa’s concussion and a Tom Banks broken arm for an unlikely win.
Whilst they were unable to keep their winning run going at Suncorp Stadium last week, Ikitau remains confident they can turn it around on Saturday.
“Yeah it’s always awesome to come over to Perth and play here,” Ikitau said.
“The boys are just ready to get out there and play a good game against the South Africans.”
The Wallabies will take on a rotated South African pack, with Marco van Staden and Pieter-Steph du Toit the only starters with double-digit caps.
However, the hosts are dealing with their own injury issues, set for a new-look second-row with Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams picking up concussions.
Josh Canham has been brought into the squad, with Reds teammate Ryan Smith not considered after the birth of his child during the week.
Wallabies assistant Geoff Parling believes they can overcome the injury setbacks and attack the revamped South African side if they fix up their accuracy.
“It could have been a different game if we’d done our things better and the review has been pretty direct with things we could do better, but mainly looking at opportunities as well,” he said.
“…We lost the accuracy battle, which then fed into their physicality. They were good at retrieving their contestable kicks, whereas we weren’t.
“A few of our first set-piece plays probably didn’t go to plan and all of that little bit of inaccuracy just fed into their physicality.
“The focus has been on being more accurate in what we do. I know that might sound boring, but if we’re more accurate, then we’ll be further up the pitch and put our players in a better position.”
