Australia coach John Connolly will resist the temptation to experiment with a new line-up in the Wallabies’ final Tri-Nations match against South Africa.
Neither side can win the series with New Zealand having already wrapped up the title but Connolly said there was still plenty at stake.
”Playing for Australia is an honour, I think you want to put the best team on the field,” he told reporters at Sydney airport on Friday.
”It is better to have evolution than revolution.”
Australia beat the Springboks twice at home this season, including a record 49-0 thrashing in Brisbane, but have a poor record on South African soil.
The Wallabies beat South Africa at Cape Town in 1992 when the Springboks were first readmitted to international rugby, but their only win since was at Durban in 2000.
They have an added incentive to win at Johannesburg next week because victory will lift them to second behind New Zealand in the world rankings after they started the season fifth.
”We are not worried about what has happened in the past but we know how we want to play the game,” Connolly said.
”They are tough to beat at home, they have forwards that can take the momentum out of the game, so you have to be strategically pretty smart.” – Reuters