Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick says concerns over Handre Pollard’s fatigue prompted the Springboks to recall Elton Jantjies for Saturday’s match against the Wallabies in Adelaide. DYLAN JACK reports.

Jantjies has been named on the bench to face the Wallabies on Saturday as the visitors have opted for a five-three split between forwards and backs.

TIM HORAN: Underrated Pollard the ‘glue’ for the Boks

The 32-year-old has not played since his poor 40 minutes in the first Test against Wales at Loftus Versfeld, with Pollard backed to start in the No 10 jersey since then.

“Ella has done a good job for us in the past, specifically if you look at the games against Australia and New Zealand last year,” said Stick.

KEO: Pollard the potion to Bok success in Australia

“Lately Handre Pollard has been getting cramps. That’s why we felt as a coaching staff that having Elton will put us in a better position.

“We have done this before. If you look at the final game against the British & Irish Lions, we had Morne Steyn on the bench. Everything went according to plan in that game. Morne came on and kicked the winning penalty at the end.

“We are expecting a similar challenge in this game. The Wallabies are going to be tough at home.

“The key thing is that the players are getting an opportunity to play week in and week out,” Stick added. “That brings confidence. A player will never gain confidence if he is not on the field. It’s a similar thing with Elton. When he played against Wales he didn’t have his best game, but he also needs more game time.

“We are in a good position and are expecting the game to be tight. Elton had done this job for us before and we are excited to see him in that role again.”

TEST PICKS: Boks given a slim chance Down Under

Stick admitted that in the past the Springboks have had one eye on the All Blacks when facing the Wallabies in Australia, which has in part contributed to South Africa’s poor record Down Under, where they have not won since 2013.

“This time our main focus is 100% on what we want to do against the Wallabies,” said Stick. “Sometimes we would have two different strategies when it comes to splitting the teams and we focus on what we want to achieve against the All Blacks. This time, it’s a different case. We have spent all our energy focusing on Australia.

Pollard the potion to Springbok success in Australia

“The coaching staff are making sure that we understand fully what’s required from this game. We haven’t beaten Australia since 2013 so it’s a massive challenge.”

Stick added he felt playing at a unique ground at the Adelaide Oval could give the Springboks a bit of an advantage.

“One thing I like about this place is that it has a Bloemfontein-vibe. There are a lot of South Africans based around here. If you look at the Australian side, most of them are coming from the big cities. So I think both teams in this game are a bit foreign to Adelaide. So we are excited and looking forward to it.”

WATCH: Everything that sparkles turns to gold

MORE: What is it with the Boks against the Wallabies in Oz?

Photo: Paul Devlin/SNS Group via Getty Images