Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper is pleased the keys to the team's attack have been tossed to Kurtley Beale, saying they'll be better off the more he sees of the ball.
Coach Michael Cheika dropped a selection bombshell by picking Beale at five-eighth for Saturday night's must-win meeting with the Springboks in Brisbane, relegating Bernard Foley to the bench.
Foley has started in his last 51 appearances for Australia and has only missed selection four times during Cheika's reign as coach.
But Cheika made it clear he was not rotating players for the sake of it by opting for Beale and Matt Toomua as his playmakers, giving them the chance to stake their claim for a permanent spell in the team.
Hooper says Australia will only benefit by getting the ball into Beale's hands more often.
"Getting more touches for Kurtley is a great thing for this team," he said.
"Everyone has full faith in him to do what we know he can do and Matty Toomua slipping in there to 12, (he's) really solid rock there, a good level head and a good controller of the game.
"They'll compliment each other nicely, and then obviously with Bernard on the bench to come on and play the money minutes at the back end of the game and finish the game is really important."
Hooper said Beale had grown as a person and as a footballer and was ready to take on a significant on-field leadership role.
"He's the barometer of the team - when he's up, he's bringing the whole team along with him," he said.
"His thirst for wanting to improve in leadership parts of the game has certainly been evident this year and I think he's delivered some amazing performances throughout."
Cheika sent a clear message to his players that complacency would not be tolerated by benching Foley and also dropping veteran prop Sekope Kepu from his squad entirely.
"No-one is safe... it's an incentive to stay on the park and be performing the best you can possibly be," Hooper said.
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