Taniela Tupou says the Wallabies know what they're in for as they prepare to face the world's premier scrum in Sunday's night's one-off Test against the Springboks, as the wider focus shifted to the world champions' "bomb squad" and reports Australia's Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii will finally be named on the wing.
News of Suaalii's positional shift was first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday morning, though was forecast on the ESPN Scrum Reset podcast following Australia's 28-all draw with Argentina earlier this month.
After starting all 23 of his previous Test matches at outside centre, Suaalii is poised to replace Filipo Daugunu, who had an unhappy night against the Pumas in Mendoza, on the wing, with Len Ikitau switching back to his more favoured No. 13 jersey.
Ikitau is likely to combine in the midfield with Hunter Paisami, while Ryan Lonergan and Ben Donaldson are expected to reprise the halves combination that started the second Test in Argentina.
The Springboks had huge success with their aerial game against the All Blacks, evidenced by New Zealand winger Will Jordan's series-high 24 turnovers, the majority of which came under the high ball. A positional switch for Suaalii would be a move to directly counter that, though the code-hopper has only fleeting experience in the back three from his time in Super Rugby.
But while Suaalii's move to the wing will dominate pre-match headlines, the true sub-plot revolves around the Springboks scrum, following its complete dominance of the All Blacks' set piece during the recent Rugby Greatest Rivalry series.
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus on Tuesday night [AEST] named a starting side featuring 13 changes to the team that defeated the All Blacks 43-28 in Baltimore, including an entirely new front-row.
But that means South Africa's mighty scrumming trio of Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Wilco Louw will instead be injected into the Test from the bench, bringing new meaning to the world champions' famed "Bomb squad".
Speaking before the Springboks team was named, Tupou said the Wallabies pack was under no illusion as to the challenge it faced.
"Yeah, we're excited. It's fun, it always is. We've been working hard. We know what's coming," Tupou told reporters in Perth.
"We all know that they're the best in the world at set piece and the scrum; I think this week it's a good challenge for us to test ourselves and see where we are as a group, so we're looking forward to it."
While the Wallabies will not face the pick of the Springboks front-row talent from the outset, Tupou added it didn't really matter who Erasmus selected up front given the 2019 and 2023 Rugby World Cup champions' depth.
"Oh man, it's tough, they've been doing it for a few years now and they won the World Cup twice and you've seen what they've done against the ABs because of their set piece.
"Obviously, they've got a good mix of experience and those guys at the back doing what they do. For us as forwards, we sort of just focus on ourselves."
That view was supported by Wallabies forwards coach Tom Donnelly, who said South Africa could trot out three different front-row combinations and lose little quality in doing so.
"Yeah, look, once they name their team a lot of their tactics probably won't change. We know the scrum's going to be a big part of the game," Donnelly said.
"We know they're going to maul. So, no matter who they really pick today, they've got probably two or three packs that are very, very class. So, it's all just a matter of us, like we said, focusing on ourselves.
"We know what we need to do to front up and to go out there with a bit of an attacking mindset against them."
Sunday night's Test will be Tupou's last before he returns to France to begin the new European season with Racing 92, with a Wallabies return slated for the Nations Championship window during November.
Tupou would be available for most, if not all of those games, under World Rugby's Regulation 9, with Australia to face England, Wales and Scotland, with a final rankings game to finish.