Storming Brumbies winger Joe Tomane makes his long-awaited return to Test rugby in three changes to the Wallabies’ starting line-up for their clash with South Africa.

Tomane was named on the wing alongside 97-Test veteran Adam Ashley-Cooper, who has recovered from a neck injury, while Queensland hooker Saia Fainga’a was given the nod ahead of Reds teammate James Hanson.

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Benn Robinson also makes his first Test appearance in almost a year with a start via the bench this weekend, but Will Genia missed out on a spot as Ewen McKenzie chose continuity over change at halfback as the Wallabies chase second spot in the world rankings and a drought-breaking win at Newlands Stadium.

Tomane pipped Rob Horne for his first appearance since the Wallabies’ 30-26 victory in Cardiff last year, with the versatile NSW back moving to the bench alongside Kurtley Beale and Brumbies halfback Nic White.

Tomane, 24, scored his third Test try in that match, capping a season that saw him become a fixture of the Wallabies back line under McKenzie.

A hamstring injury kept the former NRL player out of the Test arena this year, but he joined the Wallabies on the Gold Coast a fortnight ago and was named to start in Cape Town on Thursday.

“We’ve been impressed by how Rob Horne has performed on the wing, but we feel Joe deserves an opportunity to also show us what he has got,” McKenzie said.

“You can never have enough big backs in your side, and the physicality he brings to the game should serve us well against an abrasive Springboks line-up.

“It’s great to add Adam [Ashley-Cooper’s] experience to the squad and we expect him to be refreshed and ready to go after missing our most recent Test against Argentina.

Up front, Fainga’a’s superior set-piece work made him the preferred candidate over Hanson, who started in the front row in the Wallabies’ one-point win over the Springboks in Perth this month.

Robinson replaces Pek Cowan on the bench, and Ben McCalman makes his second start at No.8, with Matt Hodgson dropping out of the match 23 to accommodate an extra back on the bench.

“The set-piece is always an important area of focus for us, even more so when you play South Africa, and we know the outcome of the scrum and line-out will be crucial to the final result,” McKenzie said.

“We recognise that, and are confident the inclusion of Saia and Benn will offer us the best outcome in this area across the entire 80 minutes. They’re both experienced campaigners who have delivered at a high level before, and we expect the same on Saturday.

“For Saia, we’ve been really impressed with the effort he has put in off the field recently, and he’ll be determined to make the most of this opportunity.

“Benn is someone who we have always said wasn’t out of the selection picture, and we’ve been pleased with the improvements he has made to his game throughout the year. We liked what we saw from him at training during the lead-up to the Gold Coast Test and he now gets his chance.”

The Wallabies will be bracing for a response from the Springboks, who felt poorly done by in the sides’ first clash this year after Bryan Habana was controversially sin-binned in the final stages.

Though Australia were attacking for a period, the one-man overlap eventually allowed Rob Horne to score in the 77th minute. Bernard Foley converted to win the game by a point in a replay of his Super Rugby title-winning kick against the Crusaders a month earlier.

South African coach Heyneke Meyer drew appreciative laughs from local journalists with a thinly veiled reference to marginal refereeing calls costing his side in that Test and the next week’s 14-10 loss to the All Blacks.

But Meyer said the Springboks had to learn to take their opportunities when they came. “The one thing we need to do better is execute and use our opportunities, and look better after the ball,” he said.

“If we kick – and we don’t really want to kick, believe it or not – we have to kick more contestables, which is where the All Blacks totally out-kicked us. We have to play a more all-round game, and execute better at home.”

Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper (Capatin), 6 Scott fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Finga’a, 1 James Slipper
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nic White, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Rob Horne.