Len Ikitau scores a double but Tom Banks injured as Wallabies pip Springboks

Ten minutes down the road from Lang Park stands Brisbane Boys' College, where Ikitau was once a schoolboy yearning to trade textbooks for tries.

And now, a short trip up State Route 33, the 22-year-old outside centre scored a first-half double for the Wallabies in a 30-17 win over the Springboks in the Rugby Championship at Lang Park on Saturday night.

But the early heroics of Ikitau and tighthead prop Taniela Tupou were tempered by a suspected broken right arm to Wallabies fullback Banks, which would spell the end of his Rugby Championship and perhaps the ensuing Spring Tour.

Banks' absence opens the door for James O'Connor to return in the No. 15 jersey against Argentina next week, setting up a once unimaginable Wallabies reunion with flyhalf Quade Cooper.

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"It's a fracture so that's a good maybe six-week plus. I feel for Tom. We'll get a little bit of clarity around whether that will impact on our end of year tour," Wallabies coach Dave Rennie said.

"We've got a number of considerations, but great to have Rabs [O'Connor] back in the mix, we were hoping he would have had a hit out yesterday against an Argentinian non-23 but they couldn't field a side unfortunately.

"He's ready to go, he's come back in fantastic nick. Again, another very experienced player. We'll make a call around that over the next couple of days."

Australia were to rise from fifth to third on the world rankings if they could beat South Africa for the second time in as many weeks, though they had not beaten the Springboks in back-to-back Tests since 2016.

So they arrived at Lang Park looking to build on a nine-game winning streak at the venue, the first match of a Brisbane double-header with the All Blacks and Argentina to follow.

Not since an 18-9 victory over Ireland in 2018 have the Wallabies sat third in the world rankings, having fallen as low as seventh since then.

The Wallabies had taken advantage of the Springboks' ill-discipline early, with scrumhalf Faf de Klerk handed a yellow card. Ikitau did not need a second invitation.

"Awesome, isn't it? He was with us last year and didn't get a minute of footy," Rennie said.

"He went away and worked really hard, and made good shifts in his game. He played a lot of footy for the Brumbies and has now come in and really established himself.

"We're starting to create depth there. Hunter [Paisami] is now back in the mix, Matt To'omua has left us unfortunately with a concussion, and Lalakai Foketi left with an injury to his hand. We're fortunate those guys are going really well.

"Lenny has been excellent, he has got a great skill set, good feet, good defender, good left foot. He's going well, he's getting better and better."

The reigning world champions, staying in touch via the boot of Handre Pollard, soon found themselves with a one-man advantage after Lachie Swinton saw yellow for accidental high contact. If not for the television match official, he would have seen red.

Australia's pack was dominant at the breakdown, taking a 15-12 half-time lead in their best performance of the year.

The Springboks struck first on the other side of the break when Lukhanyo Am swooped on a pinpoint de Klerk grubber to take a two-point lead soon after they were back to their full complement.

The boot of Cooper nudged the hosts ahead once more, and again we seemed destined for a thriller in the vein of last Sunday's showdown on the Gold Coast.

Tupou was the man to pull off the box office play, with a flick pass sending Marika Koroibete over the line untouched. The damaging winger soon crossed for his second, and the result was inevitable. There would be no need for Cooper to step up to the tee with the weight of a nation on his shoulders again.

Cooper is not the exhilarating playmaker he may have been earlier in his career, but he plays with a degree of calm the Wallabies so sorely need right now.

Noah Lolesio is still widely regarded as the future, and more likely than not the man to lead Australia into the World Cup in two years' time. He may still face some resistance from Cooper and O'Connor, though they will be 35 and 33 respectively by the time the Wallabies arrive in France.

Long before that the Wallabies now turn their attention to back-to-back games against the Pumas.

AT A GLANCE

The Rugby Championship: WALLABIES 30 (Len Ikitau 2, Marika Koroibete 2 tries; Quade Cooper 2 conversions; Cooper 2 penalties) bt SPRINGBOKS 17 (Lukhanyo Am try; Handre Pollard 4 penalties) at Lang Park.

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