Springboks skipper John Smit has demanded his side leave nothing in the tank against the Wallabies in Brisbane © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: John Smit

Tournaments/Tours: Tri Nations

Teams: South Africa

South Africa captain John Smit has demanded his players put "their bodies on the line" as they attempt to rescue their Tri-Nations campaign against Australia in Brisbane on Saturday.

The beleaguered Springboks enter the clash on the back of two bruising defeats at the hands of New Zealand but Smit is confident his side can conjure a turnaround in fortunes if they leave nothing in reserve at the Suncorp Stadium.

"After this match, we go home for a three-week break [before hosting the All Blacks in Johannesburg on August 10], so there are no excuses for players not putting their bodies on the line," the hooker told the Cape Times. "We can rest then, and we will enjoy it so much more if we go home on Sunday with a win under the belt."

Springboks coach Peter de Villiers has made nine changes to his matchday squad from that which went down to the All Blacks in Wellington last weekend with the most notable changes coming at scrum-half where Ruan Pienaar gets the nod ahead of Ricky Januarie and blindside where Ryan Kankowski is preferred to Francois Louw.

"Those two guys coming in are exciting changes in that both showed game-breaking capabilities in the Super 14, and now we want them to produce it on the international stage," Smit added.

"Ryan gives us an injection of pace in the loose trio and we are looking forward to seeing what he can achieve along with another exciting runner in Pierre Spies, while the experience of Schalk (Burger) will run the show. The Wallabies have a very good ball-carrier in Ricky Elsom and an excellent fetcher in David Pocock, so they are also dangerous at the breakdowns. But we also have our lethal weapons, and the team that get to best employ their weapons will go a long way towards winning."

De Villiers admitted his side were under pressure but backed them to get the better of the Wallabies. "We have two tough games behind us, but if we stick to our structures and use our opportunities, I believe this team is capable of getting a result," he said.

In related news, the South African Rugby Union are to investigate alleged bias against the Springboks when it comes to refereeing and the judicial process in the sport. The move comes in the wake of wing Jean de Villiers' yellow card in Wellington and the controversial decision not to sin-bin All Blacks captain Richie McCaw for repeated offences during the same game.

Saru president Oregan Hoskins told newspaper that he had instructed South Africa's representative on the Sanzar legal committee, Judge Lex Mpati, to "take up" the apparent inconsistent rulings against the Boks during the Tri-Nations.

"On the judicial side, I have asked Judge Mpati to take it up," Hoskins said. "A number of stakeholders have complained to me about the lack of consistency in the rulings of the judicial officials in rugby.

"I have stressed to Judge Mpati the seriousness of the matter, and he has promised that he will come back to me in writing hopefully by next week. I don't want to say too much further, as previously I have spoken about the issue in the media and nothing has been done about it."