South Africa VS Australia Venue: Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
South Africa VS Australia Date: Saturday, August 23
BetXchange South Africa VS Australia Odds:
- South Africa – 17/100
- Australia – 22/5
- Draw – 29/1
- Handicap – 12.5
History
Round 2 of the 2025 Rugby Championship is this weekend, and the four countries will play the second match of their opening double-headers.
Argentina and New Zealand move from Cordoba, where the All Blacks won 41-24, to Buenos Aires, while the Boks and the Wallabies face off in Cape Town Stadium after one of the strangest games of international rugby you will ever see.
South Africa and Australia opened the 2025 Rugby Championship with a clash at the legendary Ellis Park. The Wallabies never win at this place, and all seemed to be going to plan, with the Boks 22-0 up after 18 minutes.
Tries from Kurt-Lee Arendse, Andres Esterhuizen, and captain Siya Kolsi had South Africa running away with the game and on pace for 100 points. Given the perceived gap in quality between the two sides, the impending introduction of the Bomb Squad, and the fact that this game was being played at altitude, Australia was cooked.
Except, no one told this to the Wallabies. A Dylan Pietsch try after 28 points got them going, and from then on, it was one-way traffic. The Aussies rattled off six tries, scoring 38 unanswered points in an astonishing 38-22 win.
It was a Test match that had to be seen to be believed, and now we get a rematch one week later, with Australia desperate to prove the win wasn’t a fluke and South Africa out for revenge on home soil.
South Africa
Rassie Erasmus is never shy about changing his side, and he has made a shocking 10 changes to the Boks side to face the Wallabies.
Some of these changes are enforced, with Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and both wingers missing from the humbling defeat through injury. Players returning to the side show the Boks’ strength in depth, with Cheslin Kolbe and Damian de Allende returning from injury and entering the fray alongside Willie le Roux and Handre Pollard.
Australia
There is a massive change for Australia. Captain Harry Wilson will miss this game after picking up a knee injury last weekend.
Wilson is the type of player who seems to leave every other game on a stratcher. The all-action, hard-running, and hard-hitting No. 8 destroys his body for club and country every week. It is hard to overstate how big a miss he will be.
The good news is that they get back their other backrow ace, Rob Valentini, who has recovered to replace Wilson in a straight swap of power for power. Another change is that Corey Toole debuts on the wing as he replaces the injured Pietsch.
Best Bets
It feels like Australia might have made South Africa angry. No, Wilson is massive, with Australia lacking the depth of South Africa and New Zealand at this time. I like the Boks to come out and pile on the points here, so South Africa minus the handicap would be a great place to start. Boks by 20.
