Wallaby front-rowers make strong case for change

Rampaging prop Taniela Tupou and debutant hooker Feleti Kaitu’u are set for more game time after helping deliver the Wallabies’ last-ditch scrum shunt that turned their Test against South Africa.

Recalled playmaker Quade Cooper was the unlikely hero, booting Australia to a memorable 28-26 victory over the world champion Springboks with a penalty kick after the siren on Sunday night for their first Rugby Championship win.

That came after the Wallabies forwards put a big shove on the powerhouse South African scrum in the dying seconds which ultimately led to halfback Nic White winning a breakdown penalty.

“The two scrums before that scrum we went backwards so we came together and we wanted to come up with a plan – we needed to get that scrum,” Tupou said on Monday.

“Feleti or Hoops (captain Michael Hooper) was telling us, if there’s one scrum we need to win this year it’s this one.

“It was in front of our bench and I looked at them and I thought, ‘I will throw everything I can into this scrum’, and we did it.”

Tupou is overdue for inclusion in the starting line-up for the second Test against South Africa on Saturday night in Brisbane after being used sparingly off the bench.