'There's levels': Harsh reality for outgunned Wallabies as Test greats weigh in ahead of Springboks rematch

Test greats Michael Hooper and Sonny Bill Williams are urging the Wallabies and their supporters not to overreact despite Saturday's ugly 33-7 loss to the Springboks.

The scoreline was an accurate reflection of the match in Brisbane and the chasm between the world's No.1 and No.9 ranked sides.

There is precious little time to close that gap as Perth hosts a Rugby Championship rematch this Saturday.

Watch the 2024 Rugby Championship with every match streaming ad free, live and on demand on the home of rugby, Stan Sport

Hooper played the last of his 125 Tests in a 43-12 pummeling at the hands of South Africa in Pretoria last year.

The message from coaches to players would be simple at training this week.

"Physicality. Everyone's going to be sick of us saying it, but you've got to turn up with that," Hooper told Stan Sport.

READ MORE: 'Absolutely devastated' Aussie runner lashes rife suggestions

READ MORE: Athlete makes history as first openly trans Paralympian

READ MORE: Incredible Aussie feat laid bare in greatest ever Olympics

"I think our set piece has to improve. We conceded mauls, there was a one way scrum affair, so we've got to get that part of the game sorted because any knock on, you're going to scrum and then you're probably going to a penalty afterwards.

"So you've got to lock that basic stuff down."

A lot of the post-match analysis honed in on Australia's shoddy kicking but Hooper felt the tactic didn't have to be tossed out.

"I didn't mind the kicking in the game. We've got to get that execution right," he said.

"Both our kickoffs and also our infield kicks have to be a lot better executed so our players can move forward and send their forwards back. So a fair bit to work on but I thought the Wallabies turned up physically at the start of the game."

The Wallabies have also lost winger Filipo Daugunu (broken leg) and locks Nick Frost and Jeremy Williams (both concussion) for the Optus Stadium rematch.

The world class Marika Koroibete appears the obvious replacement for Daugunu, despite Dylan Pietsch getting a run off the bench ahead of him at Suncorp Stadium.

Prop Tom Robertson and locks Josh Canham and Sam Carter have been drafted in as squad cover while the Wallabies have left the door ajar for the return of Taniela Tupou.

Tupou did not play on Saturday after the death of his father but warmed up with the team and participated in all the buildup.

The star prop flew to Tonga on Sunday for the funeral and has not been ruled out.

His availability would be a huge boost but not a fix all.

"The reality of things is there's levels, you know," Williams told Stan Sport.

"And South Africa are the best team in the world at the moment. Right now for us, let's stay optimistic. It's (Australia) still a great side.

"There's some raw, energetic, great young players in this team and the beauty of this side I feel like is they know where they're going.

"OK, yeah, it was a tough performance but it's not like the Eddie Jones era where everyone was looking this way or that way. Now everyone's kind of knowing where they're going and these little hiccups - this is where growth comes."

Wallabies veteran James Slipper said the players needed to shoulder the blame for not executing the game plan well enough.

"One thing in rugby is one week's performance can easily be turned around," Slipper said.

"We get to play the same team twice in a row in this competition so the ability for us to change the performance is easier in that circumstance. But at the end of the day, you've just got to perform on the day when the pressure's on."

Schmidt, meanwhile, admitted that "you don't suddenly solve the South African conundrum."

He will name his team on Thursday but isn't about to panic at the selection table.

"We've got a much younger side and a lot less caps (than South Africa) and therefore my belief is if we chop and change too much then it's very hard to grow the cohesion," Schmidt said.

"When you go out in a game like that, you're very interdependent and you're going to have to make sure that everyone knows their role has been built ready to deliver. I thought Carlo Tizzano did really well but it would've been nice to have Fraser McReight as well and then you have Luke Reimer coming off the bench (on debut like Tizzano) so there's guys that will get better with opportunity.

"I'm a realist and I know that you don't suddenly match up and front up but you've got to better yourself for next week."

South Africa name their team on Tuesday evening AEST and, with enviable squad depth, assistant coach Duane Vermeulen forecast plenty of changes.