‘World-class’ Marika Koroibete to provide a huge boost for the Wallabies against Springboks

The Wallabies’ bid for redemption against South Africa will be aided by the return of a 59-Test veteran in Perth on Saturday.

Wallabies lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto has hailed the expected return of the “world-class” Marika Koroibete to an Australian side seeking redemption against South Africa in Perth on Saturday night.

Japan-based winger Koroibete was surprisingly not included in the Wallabies side that lost 33-7 to the Springboks in Brisbane, with coach Joe Schmidt saying the 59-Test veteran “wasn’t quite ready” despite having been named in an extended national squad for the two Rugby Championship games against South Africa.

However, the time has come to unleash the 32-year-old powerhouse, who is set to replace unfortunate winger Filipo Daugunu, who suffered a broken leg in Australia’s 26-point loss to the world champions at Suncorp Stadium.

“He’s a world-class player, and the more you have of those guys in the team, it’s certainly going to help,” Salakaia-Loto said on Wednesday.

“He’s been good (at training) … we’ll see what happens at selection.

“We’ve got Marika that can come in, and we’ve also got guys that also play in the same position that can come in and slot into that spot easily.”

Mixing it with some heavy hitters 👊@wallabies x @ufc#Wallabies#UFC305pic.twitter.com/xsdLEHcEF0

— Wallabies (@wallabies) August 14, 2024

But not as “easily” as former Melbourne Rebels star Koroibete, whose mere presence should lift the Wallabies at Optus Stadium, where the Australians will hope to fight back after suffering their first loss under Schmidt following last month’s success in two Tests against Wales and one against Georgia.

“A week is a long time in sport, so we’ve learnt our lessons,” Salakaia-Loto said in reflecting on the Wallabies’ ill-disciplined display in Brisbane.

“We’re looking to show more of our game plan this week, and put on a performance that our fans can be proud of.”

Salakaia-Loto said the depth South Africa possessed meant that the Springboks’ decision to make 10 changes to their starting team this week was not a sign of “disrespect” towards the Wallabies.

“They’ve still got 14 World Cup winners in their squad, and they’re back-to-back World Cup champs, and you don’t get that without depth,” he said.

“It’s no disrespect at all. We’ve got a tough Test match to win on the weekend, and that’s the challenge for us. Nothing changes for us.

“It doesn’t matter who you put in their team, it’s gong to be a tough challenge and we expect nothing less from them.

“Their game plan hasn’t changed over the past eight years. The challenge is how do you stop that, and can you stop that?

“The challenge for us is to come this week prepared to go to work, and to put in a much better performance than last week.”