Wallabies coach Michael Cheika admits he was taken aback by the number of changes the Boks have made for Saturday’s clash in Brisbane.

There are six changes and a positional switch to the Springboks’ starting team that suffered a shock loss to Argentina in Mendoza, with the likes of Beast Mtawarira, Malcolm Marx and Handré Pollard all being named on the bench.

‘I hope we haven’t become a team where the opposition can rest all their best players,’ Cheika commented when reflecting on the new-look Bok team. ‘I was a bit surprised to see that to be honest, but we will be doing our best no matter who we are playing against.’

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However, Erasmus sought to insist that the selection was based on a clearly-defined plan to continue building depth in the squad.

‘There are very few of these guys, including Malcolm, that got a surprise they weren’t in the team. We’ve only had six Tests together, we’ve got 12 to go before the World Cup, and if we want to build a squad and be competitive there, guys will have to adapt.’

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