Marco van Staden says a heavily-changed Springboks doesn’t need more motivation than to use a rare opportunity to impress by maintaining a high standard in the clash with the Wallabies in Perth on Saturday.

Van Staden has been promoted to the starting lineup in one of 10 changes to the Springbok lineup that claimed a comfortable win against the Wallabies in Brisbane.

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It will be just the 28-year-old opensider’s fourth start since he made his Test debut in August 2018.

However, the 2023 World Cup winner is surrounded with familiar faces, as he is joined in the starting pack by four of his Vodacom Bulls teammates.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a disruption. I don’t think this team needs any more motivation than we currently have for this match,” Van Staden said.

“All of us want to use this opportunity, and we took a lot of confidence from training this week. The intensity was really up there, and we want to take that energy into the game.

“Many of us have played together quite often at the Bulls, which certainly gives us confidence,” Van Staden added.

“We’ve been working together well at training in the Bok camp too, so we are excited about this opportunity.”

Zooming in on the match, Van Staden said improving their breakdown play has been one of the main focus areas for the team this week after they were challenged by the Wallabies in that department at the Suncorp Stadium last week.

“There has been a big focus on that area of the game this week and to correct the wrongs of last week,” Van Staden said.

“We’ve been working on trying to control what we can and to ensure that we are ready for whatever they throw at us in that department.”

Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images

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