McMahon for Pocock

Pretoria: Sean McMahon will start at number eight for Australia when they take on South Africa in Pretoria tomorrow. McMahon replaces the injured David Pocock and edges out Lopeti Timani for the number eight jersey. It is the only change to the Wallabies starting XV which beat Argentina 36-20 in Perth two weeks ago. The last time McMahon started for the Wallabies was during the third and final Test in Sydney in the England series. He also featured at number eight during the previous game in Melbourne when Pocock was ruled out because of the fractured eye socket he suffered in the first Test in Brisbane. Pocock did not travel to South Africa and will not play next week in London against Argentinadue after breaking his hand. Coach Michael Cheika believes McMahon has a chance to make the number eight position his own. “He’s a chance,” Cheika told the Sydney Morning Herald. “There’s definitely an opportunity (to be a long-term number eight). There’s a few guys there that will be in the mix. Ben McCalman is getting some footy under his belt, Lopeti (Timani), there’s a few other players that we’ve got our eye on, but at the moment he’s playing in the Test so he’s going to be the front runner.” Cheika said McMahon might also come into play in the lineouts, an area of his game he has been working hard on and praised his physical approach. “He’s done a lot of work on his jump, so we feel confident for him to be able to perform on the lineout as well,” he added. Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Bernard Foley, 11 Reece Hodge,10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dean Mumm, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Scott Sio Replacements (one to be omitted): 16 James Hanson, 17 James Slipper, 18 Tom Robertson, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Scott Fardy, 21 Lopeti Timani, 22 Nick Phipps, 23 Tevita Kuridrani, 24 Sefa Naivalu. Planet Rugby