Wallabies flanker David Pocock says he and fellow breakdown specialist Michael Hooper will continue to work on their back-row combination as pressure mounts on the dual-fetcher setup.
Both men have struggled to repeat their dynamic performances from last year's Rugby World Cup in the Rugby Championship, leading to calls for the Wallabies to field a more traditional back-row that could see either Pocock or Hooper demoted to the bench for Saturday's clash with the Springboks.
The Wallabies lost a number of lineouts against the All Blacks' in twin Bledisloe defeats and asked few questions of the world champions' defence, while Hooper and Pocock were unable to assert themselves at the breakdown -- an art they perfected when dubbed 'Pooper' last year.
But Pocock believes that lack of impact at the breakdown may in part be down to the improving tackle skills of all players, rather than those usually associated with just the back-row.
"I'm not sure, I think most teams are still looking to have that on-the-ball presence and a lot of players across the field are starting to get a lot better at it," Pocock said when asked about the changing patterns of breakdown play.
"A few props, hookers, some of the outside backs; against England they had a number of guys who were getting good turnovers against us.
"The All Blacks have pressured the ball with their second-rowers; Sam Cane's pretty handy in that area, too. So I think there's definitely a role for it, a lot of it depends on, I don't know, the amount of space the opposition team gives in that area."
The Wallabies have lost their last six Tests while the South Africans are coming off a last-start loss to Argentina, the second defeat of Allister Coetzee's short coaching tenure.
The Springboks are without the injured No.8 Duane Vermeulen, with Warren Whiteley, Oupa Mahoje and Francois Louw starting against the Pumas two weeks ago. Both Louw and Whiteley are additional lineout options to locks Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager, giving the Springboks the chance to repeat the All Blacks' set-piece dominance of the Wallabies come Saturday in Brisbane.
While he wouldn't be drawn on the make-up of the Wallabies' back-row - and the need to combat the Springboks' lineout superiority -- Pocock had nothing but praise for teammate Hooper.
"I really enjoy playing alongside Hoops, I mean his work-rate is huge," Pocock said.
"If you look at just the metres he gets through, the ground that he covers; it's pretty impressive. I certainly enjoy playing alongside him.
"Selections issues: you've got to talk to the people making the decisions. But as a player, you know I am really enjoying playing alongside him and we'll keep working hard on that combination and trying to make it better and improve it."
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika will name his squad on Thursday.