Veteran James O'Connor backed to ‘run the game' in his Wallabies return
The return of 35-year-old O'Connor for the injured Tom Lynagh (concussion) has been confirmed as the only change to the Australian team that started in the 22-12 third Test win over the British and Irish Lions in Sydney on August 2.
O'Connor was part of the Wallabies' extended squad for the series against the Lions but didn't get any game time.
However, Schmidt said the 64-Test veteran was more than ready to call the shots as the Wallabies' main playmaker.
'The good thing with James is he came in right at the start of the Lions series, so he had three weeks with us,' Schmidt said.
'He's had a period to probably just assimilate himself into the systems that we run and to start gaining confidence that he could run the game and the confidence of the players that he was a guy to listen to.
'He's done that really well.'
Any doubt whether O'Connor would start or come off the bench was quashed when Ben Donaldson, who replaced Lynagh during the win over the Lions, suffered an injury at training on Thursday.
'(O'Connor) brings a lot of experience and it's probably fortuitous because our initial thought was going with Ben Donaldson, who spent more time with us and played the last 50 minutes of that third Test against the British and Irish Lions,' Schmidt said.
'We felt that James was best served and the team was best served by James getting enough reps during the week and having the time in the saddle.
'We've obviously tracked him through the Super Rugby, playing for the Crusaders. I've seen him play for a number of years, probably because he's played for a number of years.
'(He has had) a very long career but hasn't played for the Wallabies for three years, so he's pretty excited about that opportunity.'
Schmidt said his squad had prepared well for the tough task of facing the world champions on Sunday morning (AEST).
'The group has had a good week of preparation, adjusting pretty well to the time zone and the altitude well here in Johannesburg,' he said.
'There's not many bigger Tests than playing South Africa on their home turf and we know we're going to need to be at our best.'
Wallabies: James Slipper, Billy Pollard, Taniela Tupou, Nick Frost, Will Skelton, Tom Hooper, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (c), Nic White, James O'Connor, Dylan Pietsch, Len Ikitau, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Max Jorgensen, Tom Wright. Bench: Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Tate McDermott, Andrew Kellaway.
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