S Africa v Australia: Teams

Matfield: Starts in the second row of a much-changed XV

Peter de Villiers has named the most experienced South Africa side in the country's history for Saturday's clash with Australia in Durban.

The starting XV for the game at Kings Park boasts 810 caps between them, although several Springboks are only just returning from injury.

Still, de Villiers will be delighted to welcome back so many key players after suffering heavy defeats in the opening two games of this season's Tri-Nations.

Indeed, only captain and hooker John Smit and flanker Danie Rossouw remain from the teams that lost away to both the Wallabies and New Zealand.

New-look partnership

Fourie du Preez and Heinrich Brussow have been selected for the first time in almost two years, with the former linking up with Butch James in a new-look half-back partnership.

Scrum-half du Preez missed the entire 2010 international season after undergoing shoulder surgery.

Full-back Frans Steyn, wings Bryan Habana and JP Pietersen and centres Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie are also recalled.

With veteran locks Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha also returning, and Pierre Spies back in the No.8 shirt, South Africa finally look a force again.

"It is a strong team, one of the best we have been able to pick for a while, and yet there are still a few players unavailable, but it's the best we can do right now," Smit said.

"Hopefully, we can use those guys to step it up and use their experience out on the field."

The Boks skipper also called on his side to make a fast start against Australia, who were well beaten by New Zealand in their last outing.

He added: "Things can happen pretty quickly in the Tri-Nations. You can't afford too much time to settle in.

"I was asked the same question two years ago before the British and Irish Lions series, about whether we were ready to play against a team of that stature. Time will tell, but the first 20 minutes (on Saturday) will be important."

Australia coach Robbie Deans has decided to keep faith with the majority of the side that lost to the All Blacks, although there is a recall for Nathan Sharpe.

The lock, 33, was controversially left out for the game in Auckland but returns to the second row in place of Dan Vickerman.

In the only other change to the starting XV, in-form Reds back-rower Scott Higginbotham finally gets his chance at number eight at the expense of Ben McCalman.

Tough challenge

Deans, who has picked five forwards on the bench, including fit-again Brumbies prop Salesi Ma'afu, is expecting a tough challenge this weekend.

He saw his team win 39-20 against the same opponents in the opening game of the tournament but expects a backlash from the Boks in the return fixture.

"We saw last week that the All Blacks hit the ground running, with a group that featured a number of experienced players coming off a brief break, and the Springboks will be no different," Deans said.

"We didn't handle the opening onslaught in Auckland and that set us on the back foot for the remainder of the match.

"The South Africans won't have missed that. More of the same will be coming. It is important we adapt better and get ourselves into the contest from the start."

South Africa: 15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Gurthro Steenkamp, 18 Gerhard Mostert, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Morne Steyn, 22 Gio Aplon.

Australia: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 James Horwill, 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Sekope Kepu.
Replacements: 16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Salesi Ma'afu, 18 Sitaleki Timani, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Luke Burgess, 22 Anthony Faingaa.