An hour after this wide-eyed mayhem they were sharing a beer

Allan Alaalatoa and Eben Etzebeth will resume their fiery rivalry as the Wallabies move up a weight division against the world champion Springboks on Sunday.

The Australian prop’s intense, face-to-face altercation with the snarling South African lock at Allianz Stadium in 2022 is one of the most iconic moments of the proud rugby nations’ rivalry this decade.

The 204cm, 120kg Etzebeth’s terrifying expression while holding Alaalatoa’s jersey epitomises the alpha dog mentality of Rassie Erasmus’ crack squad.

“I wouldn’t really say it was a brawl,” Alaalatoa told Stan Sport in an interview that will air in pre-game coverage ahead of the one-off Test at Perth’s Optus Stadium.

“It was just two passionate sides going at each other. There was a bit of beef that carried over from the game before, when Marika (Koroibete) did that cover tackle in the corner (to famously deny Makazole Mapimpi at Adelaide Oval).

“Something similar happened in that next Test match, but that winger scored, so I guess it was both teams looking after each other and their teammates. It kind of went overboard a little bit.”

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“I was just trying to drag him off one of the boys who was on the floor,” Alaalatoa recalled.

“He was putting him in a little chokehold, so yeah, I was trying to remove him off that. A few things were said, but it was just a few handbags, push and shove. That was about it really.”

But in classic rugby fashion, the pair shared a dressing room beer and a chat only an hour later.

“That’s probably something that’s been instilled in rugby throughout what I’ve seen as a junior,” Alaalatoa explained.

“When I’ve been a part of West Harbour and being ball boys, is that there’s always other teams that are invited to change rooms and no matter what happened on the field, it stays on the field, and you’re able to share a beer post-game.

“I think that’s just always been the tradition in rugby, and when I saw him in the change room, it was good to be able to just give him a beer and leave everything out there on the field and just continue to be people, you know, and wish each other well on our future journeys.”

The Wallabies have gone four matches without a loss since Les Kiss took over from Joe Schmidt in late July but Sunday looms as an acid test of the progress made under the new coach.

The momentum Australia have built in two victories over Japan and a win and a draw against a weakened Pumas outfit in Argentina could come to a shuddering halt in 80 minutes.

With back-to-back Tests against the All Blacks to come in October, and a home Rugby World Cup little more than a year away, the Wallabies need to show they can, at the very least, be competitive against a backup Springboks side.

Kiss has continued the work of Schmidt in building depth in key positions but flyhalf continues to be an issue, especially after first-choice Carter Gordon fractured his leg in the second Argentina Test.

The Wallabies will need to be at their very best in the forward battle, particularly at the set piece, if they are to replicate last year’s stunning 38-22 upset at Ellis Park.

“It doesn’t matter who they’ve picked, they’ve got probably two or three packs that are very, very class,” Wallabies forwards coach Tom Donnelly said.

"It's just a matter of us focusing ourselves. We know what we need to do to front up, and to go out there with an attacking mindset against them."

After a gruelling four-Test series against New Zealand, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus made no fewer than 13 changes when he named a team without the likes of Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian de Allende and Cheslin Kolbe.

Erasmus has left himself an insurance policy by naming possibly the strongest bench ever deployed in a Test with Malcolm Marx, Wilco Louw, Lood de Jager, Jasper ​Wiese, Morne van ⁠den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Quan Horn all on the pine.

“Sometimes you have to roll the dice,” Erasmus explained to reporters.

“If we keep on (picking the same team), how would we know when we get to the Nations Championship at the end of the year, or at the World Cup next year, what can the next guy do?” - with Reuters

Wallabies (15-1): Tom Wright, Max Jorgensen, Len Ikitau, Hunter Paisami, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Ben Donaldson, Ryan Lonergan, Harry Wilson (c), Fraser McReight, Rob Valetini, Jeremy Williams, Josh Canham, Allan Alaalatoa, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell

Reserves: Billy Pollard, Aidan Ross, Taniela Tupou, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Tom Hooper, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Harry Potter

Springboks (15-1): Aphelele Fassi, Edwill van der Merwe, Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen (c), Ethan Hooker, Handre Pollard, Herschel Jantjies, Marco van Staden, Elrigh Louw, Paul de Villiers, Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Zachary Porthen, Johan Grobbelaar, Jan-Hendrik Wessels

Reserves: Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche, Wilco Louw, Lood de Jager, Jasper Wiese, Morne van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Quan Horn

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