The 2007 world champions ended a run of three successive defeats in last year's tournament by beating Australia by a record margin at Coca Cola Park in their last outing.

But prior to that, Stirling Mortlock's battling Aussies had twice lowered the colours of the world champs in the competition, including a 27-15 triumph in Durban.

This year, though, De Villiers men will be going into their first clash with the Australians on the back of two successive home wins over the All Blacks and a series triuph against the British & Irish Lions.

"Our last meeting with the Wallabies, at Coca-Cola Park last year, was a memorable one but that will have no bearing on Saturday's clash," De Villiers told the SA Rugby webbsite.

"We start with a clean slate against a tough and resilient opponent and we have to build a performance as we did against the All Blacks. Beating the All Blacks on consecutive Saturdays is a great achievement in anyone's book and I am very proud of what this Springbok team has achieved over the past three weeks - both in the preparation and execution of the game plan.

"But each squad member is mindful of the fact that, in the bigger scheme of things, we are yet to achieve the ultimate goal that we have set for ourselves. We will only truly have accomplished something remarkable if we are able to go on to secure the Tri-Nations title - and there is still some way to go.

"Four tough matches lie ahead of us, three of them on the road. History has shown that winning home matches is of utmost importance in this tournament and we have made a fantastic start in this regard.

"We finish our home leg of 2009 against Australia on Saturday in a match which we expect to be a lot different to what we have had in the previous two matches against New Zealand."

De Villiers is expecting a bigger tussle for possession at the set-pieces from Robbie Deans' Australian outfit than the Boks experienced against the disappointing and disjointed All Blacks.

"The Wallabies play with more structure, they hold onto the ball longer and enjoy playing multiple phases. They have a solid scrum and, with respect to the All Blacks, will be more competitive in the line-outs," added De Villiers.

"They also have the genius of Matt Giteau at flyhalf and a great midfield pairing of Berrick Barnes and the battle-hardened veteran Stirling Mortlock. Their back-three are also dangerous with ball in hand.

"In George Smith they have one of the world's best exponents of breakdown play and they are sure to test us in this particular area of the game, which has become so vital in recent seasons."