Reds back rower Scott Higginbotham and Nathan Sharpe were named in the Wallabies rugby team to face the Springboks in a Tri Nations rugby Test against the Springboks in Durban on Saturday.

Higginbotham will make his first Test start after impressing off the bench in the Wallabies first two TriNations matches and replaces Ben McCalman at No.8.

The only other change to the team is the return of lock Nathan Sharpe Reds second-rower Rob Simmons who is being rested with a shoulder injury.

“Rob has been troubled for a wee while now by a shoulder niggle. With so much rugby still to come this year, and a physically taxing afternoon in prospect, we thought it prudent to pull back on his involvement for now to allow his shoulder to rest up,” Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said, adding that Simmons was not in doubt for next week’s Rugby World Cup squad naming.

Although he was involved in last year’s Tri Nations squad, being robbed of a possible Test debut when forced from the bench at late notice last year in Pretoria; Higginbotham had to wait until the last game of 2010 before finally taking his maiden Test bow as a Wallaby, during the 59-16 demolition of France in Paris at the end of the Spring Tour.

“Scott has made a genuine impact in each of his Test outings to date this year,” Deans noted, “and we’ll be looking for him to do the same from the start this week.”

A further change on the bench sees Brumbies prop Salesi Ma’afu enter for the first time this year, after missing the back end of Super Rugby due to a fractured arm, which was sustained against the Lions. Ma’afu featured in 10 Tests during his maiden season as a Wallaby last year, starting in all six matches of last year’s Tri Nations series. He has taken the bench position previously occupied by Pekahou Cowan.

“Salesi has worked hard to get back. The work he put in at our Gold Coast camp last week confirmed for us, on top of his medical clearance, that he is ready to go,” Deans said.

“He’s in good nick physically, has scrummed well in training and, most importantly, has been there before. Salesi knows what to expect in these types of contests. We will be looking for him to add value when he gets his chance.”

While the Australian starting line-up features nine of the players who started in last year’s thrilling 41-39 win over South Africa at Bloemfontein, which was the Wallabies’ second win in the Republic from three seasons, but Australia’s first at a high veldt venue in 47 years; the Springboks will still field a vastly more experienced outfit.

Last week, Australia faced the most experienced All Black line-up, in terms of collective caps, in history, and the Springbok group is tipped to similarly boast a record number of South African appearances when it is named later today.

“We saw last week that the All Blacks hit the ground running, with a group that featured a number of experienced players coming off a brief break, and the Springboks will be no different,” Deans said.

“We didn’t handle the opening onslaught in Auckland and that set us on the back foot for the remainder of the match. The South Africans won’t have missed that. More of the same will be coming. It is important we adapt better and get ourselves into the contest from the start.”

Wallabies:

Kurtley Beale, James O’Connor, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Pat McCabe, Digby Ioane, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Scott Higginbotham, David Pocock, Rocky Elsom (capt), James Horwill, Nathan Sharpe, Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore, Sekope Kepu.

Reserves: Saia Faingaa, Salesi Ma’afu, Sitaleki Timani, Radike Samo, Ben McCalman, Luke Burgess, Anthony Faingaa