The Wallabies are in the hunt for their first Rugby Championship in ten years as the tournament comes down to a final round shootout between three teams.
Joe Schmidt's team (11 points) finds themselves with an outside chance of claiming the title after starting last week as leaders of a congested ladder.
Watch the Wallabies tackle the All Blacks live and on-demand via Stan Sport.
Australia's 33-24 loss to the All Blacks in Auckland means they must win Saturday's Bledisloe Cup match with a bonus point to give themselves a chance.
They would then need the Springboks to lose to Argentina by eight points or more.
South (15 points) are in pole position and can take out the title with a win over Los Pumas (nine points) at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.
As for the All Blacks (14 points), they also need a bonus point win - and are reliant on a Springboks defeat - to regain the title after their three-peat was ended by the South Africans in 2024.
For Schmidt, the fact that Australia are still in the title race is a sign of growth after claiming the wooden spoon in both 2023 and 2024.
"I think we only ever go out to win games and to stack enough good moments in the game to win them," he said.
"For us, the silverware, make no mistake, that would be a massive bonus.
"It's a long time since we've even been in a competitive position for the Rugby Championship. If we could get a win this week, at worst, we'd finish second, I think.
"That would be incredible compared to last season and the season before that where there was the winless season that was in the Rugby Championship.
"Building our way forward, I do think that it gives us a little bit more confidence."
Springboks counterpart Rassie Erasmus made his feelings clear after naming a strong side for the trip north.
“This match is a final for us," he said when naming his team earlier in the week.
“...We’ll be in the fortunate position to know exactly what we need to do in the match to win the competition before we take the field as Australia and New Zealand face one another before our match, but we still need to go out there and deliver against a quality outfit.”
