Duane Vermeulen and Joseph Dweba have been retained to face Australia on Saturday as Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber attempts to nurture them back to form.

Dweba and Vermeulen, who were both hooked early in the defeat by the All Blacks at Ellis Park, have retained their starting spots for the Boks’ Rugby Championship clash with Australia in Adelaide on Saturday.

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In explaining his team selections and switch to a five-three split on the bench, Nienaber said: “We also feel it is important to give the likes of Ox [Nche], Joseph [Dweba] and Duane [Vermeulen] another opportunity to further build combinations and give them valuable game time as we build toward the Rugby World Cup next year.

“With Franco [Mostert] and Kwagga [Smith] on the bench, we will have cover at lock and loose forward, while Frans Steyn’s versatility will also be handy as he can cover centre and fullback. These changes obviously mean that Willie [le Roux], Jasper [Wiese] and Herschel [Jantjies] lose out, but we know what we have in them and what they bring to the team.”

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Nienaber expected a big onslaught from the Wallabies, who will be equally determined to bounce back from their defeat by Argentina.

“Australia are always a tough force at home and the fact that we haven’t beaten them here since 2013 is evidence of that. Much like us, they will also want to bounce back after going down against Argentina, so we expect them to come out firing. The fact that this will be the first Test between the teams in Adelaide will serve as extra motivation for both teams this weekend.”

He added: “We know we need to make a big step up in the quality of our performance to start the tour on a positive note, and that is a big objective for us this weekend.”

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