The Wallabies manager reacted to the contentious Springboks pick by comparing Rassie Erasmus’ circumstance to his own.

South Africa put themselves in an excellent position in the Rugby Championship after they claimed a dominant 33-7 victory over Australia in Brisbane, but they risk undoing that this weekend.

Erasmus has changed 10 of his team for the encounter in Perth, potentially putting their title aspirations in doubt by focusing on building the squad depth ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

‘Disrespecting’ the opponent

Some have labelled it ‘disrespectful’, seeing it as a slight on the opposition and the competition after gaining a dominant triumph in Round One.

Schmidt is not among that group and in fact sees similarities with what he is trying to do.

Although the two countries are at opposite ends of the world rankings’ top 10, the Australia head coach believes that they are operating on the same principle.

“Probably the same way we’re trying to work out a broader squad at the moment,” he told reporters. “Having been involved in international rugby for 10 years, you’ve got to be transitioning your squad.

“I don’t know what the number was but they had [lots of players] 30-plus last week in their 23, so there is a necessity around building a depth in your squad.

“My perception would be that South Africa have depth. It’s a couple of Bulls front-rowers in [Johan] Grobbelaar and [Jan-Hendrik] Wessels and then you’ve got Thomas du Toit, who’s a big man at tighthead.

“I think the element of risk for Rassie is an element of confidence he’s got in his own team, not aiming up regarding us.

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“He’s demonstrated that he does like to chop and change a little bit but there are some guys you notice stay pretty consistent.

“I don’t see Pieter-Steph du Toit getting too many rests because he’s a freakish athlete. I think they’ve got about 500 caps on the bench so, if there are cracks, they’ve got some decent men to put in them.”

Schmidt himself has made 10 changes to his squad after seeing them utterly dominated by the Springboks last weekend.

It was very much enjoyed by a large South African contingent, who flocked to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane to watch the match.

There could well be even more in attendance in Perth, but Schmidt hopes the Wallabies fans show up and give their backing to the team.

“I was surprised in Brisbane. I know that in Perth there is a big South African presence and the expectation is that Optus will have a decent cohort of green,” he said.

“I just hope that those Australians who come to support the Wallabies put the gold on, so at least we can balance that.

In the game, it’s all background noise, but you can certainly feel it when it is in your favour. When you get a line break or a turnover, or you do something that’s supported by the crowd.

“The more support for that action, the more encouragement, I think it just lifts people a little bit. We’d love the Optus crowd to be gold and vocal, but the reality is that there will be a balance.”