South Africa are coming with their tails up after two convincing wins over the might of New Zealand. Australia are coming after a rest, but with the unpleasant taste of defeat as their last memory.

Now they have to front up to what has just proved itself far tougher than the ones who beat them last.

At first glance it would seem that the Springboks are in the driving seat, heads up and confident, knowing they can win. The Wallabies may be different, knowing that the worst can happen to them.

That may be how it seems, but the big warning is that the besetting sin of South African rugby is overconfidence.

Their admirable captain John Smit warned against it, but it's hard to see the men who matter in the side sliding into carelessness, hard to see Morne Steyn taking his heroics for granted even if it is hard to keep on kicking so brilliantly.

If the intensity is back in place and if they get the packed Newlands on their side it could be a tough time for the Wallabies. Against New Zealand in Auckland, it was the Wallabies who started really well and scored an early, clever try. In recent matches when the Springboks have done well, they have started well. The opening moments could be hectic as two good starters vie for early supremacy.

Much has been made of the Springboks' kicking game and how badly the All Blacks dealt with it. But throughout the Super 14 New Zealanders were rickety under the high ball. The Wallabies will be a different propositions. The cousins of Aussie Rules are good in the air.

Possession is going to count heavily. If the Springboks repeat the 70% domination of possession they achieved against New Zealand, even the resilient Wallabies will crack somewhere. At the very least they will find scoring themselves extremely hard, especially if the Springboks continue to concede few penalties as they did in both New Zealand Tests.

The scrums will be important. The Australian scrum has, they say, improved, though it was penalised in Auckland. They are likely to compete at the line-out more than the All Blacks did but they will still have a difficulty time of it. They are likely to throw a massive effort into the post-tackle squabble, and the Wallabies use turnover ball brilliantly. Think of seeing Matt Giteau, Berrick Barnes and Stirling Mortlock weaving their magic and you have a side that can score from anywhere. That is true of the All Blacks but the Wallabies have a more deft touch.

That No.8-No.9-No.10 axis will be important. The Wallabies have magical Giteau but in front of him they have two men who tend to be clumsy. The New Zealanders seemed to blame their scrumhalves in both recent Tests and wonder at the demise of Rodney So'oialo. If the Wallabies' tight five cannot get secure ball, Luke Burgess and Wycliff Palu will also suffer, leaving calm Fourie du Preez to luxuriate and strong Pierre Spies to run.

Kicking counts. That lesson is the most obvious. Australia have excellent goal-kickers in Giteau, Mortlock and Barnes and good variety of out-of-hand kicking of Barnes and Giteau. South Africa has powerful kickers in Fourie du Preez, Morne Steyn and Frans Steyn. They can probably score from further, drive opponents further back and send those bombs higher - bombs that were so accurate in Durban.

All of those things are true but the main battle may be between the muscularity of the Springboks and the wiles of the Wallabies.

Players to watch:

For South Africa: On the Springbok side you would want to see Bryan Habana with a chance to run with the ball. You would want to see the forceful power of Bakkies Botha and Bismarck du Plessis in action and Pierre Spies with half a chance to burst clear and the athleticism of Victor Matfield in the line-out.

For Australia: There is Matt Giteau, the best, cleverest flyhalf in the world playing international rugby at present. You will watch him. It is also interesting to see if he, his centres and Wycliff Palu will be trying to home in on Morne Steyn whose defence was not in question last week against New Zealand, but will it stand up to a four-pronged attack? You will also watch Berrick Barnes. Remember his super try against New Zealand when he brushed past Mils Muliaina.

Head to Head: There are interesting match-ups in every single position - from Frans Steyn against Adam Ashley-Cooper to Tendai Mtawarira against Al Baxter. Steyn will kick further, Ashley-Cooper run more effectively. Would it not be good to see Steyn coming into the backline to create space for his speedy wings who could then be more than just chasers?

The battle between Mtawarira, who has rapidly become one of South Africa's most popular players, and Baxter could hold the key to the scrums.

There is a great contest possible between strong veteran Stirling Mortlock and the brilliant, speedy commitment of Jaque Fourie who manages to make a lot out of a little.

The battle for the tackle ball will be watched with intense interest - veteran, cunning George Smith against enthusiastic Heinrich Brussow, the new wonder boy of South African rugby.

Those are just some.

Recent results
2008: South Africa won 53-8 at Ellis Park, Johannesburg
2008: Australia won 27-15 at Absa Stadium, Durban
2008: Australia won 16-9 at Subiaco Oval, Perth
2007: South Africa won 22-19 at Newlands
2007: Australia won 25-17 at Stadium Australia, Sydney
2006: South Africa won 24-16 at Ellis Park, Johannesburg
2006: Australia won 20-18 at Stadium Australia, Sydney
2006: Australia won 49-0 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
2005: South Africa won 22-19 at Subiaco Oval, Perth
2005: South Africa won 22-16 at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
2005: South Africa won 33-20 at Ellis Park, Johannesburg
2005: Australia won 30-12 at Stadium Australia, Sydney

Prediction: South Africa to win by more than 10.

Teams:

South Africa: 15 Frans Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (captain), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Adi Jacobs

Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Richard Brown, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 David Pocock, 20 Will Genia, 21 Peter Hynes, 22 James O'Connor.

Date: Saturday 8 August 2009
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT)
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
Expected weather: Morning clouds and mild. Very little chance of rain. High 19?C, low 12?C. Wind 21km/h S
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Nigel Owens (Wales), Tim Hayes (Wales)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)