Wallabies forwards coach Geoff Parling and centre Len Ikitau target improvement against South Africa in Perth

Wallabies forwards coach Geoff Parling has put a bullseye on accuracy for Australia ahead of their rematch with South Africa at Optus Stadium on Saturday.

After their 33-7 thrashing at the hands of the reigning world champions in their opening Rugby Championship fixture in Brisbane, Parling said inaccuracy in all facets of the game helped South Africa physically dominate the Wallabies.

The Springboks’ intimidating forward pack helped play the game on their terms and Parling admitted the the Wallabies received a “grounding” after three wins from three to begin the Joe Schmidt era.

South Africa’s size advantage up front could again come in handy at Optus Stadium, with Force skipper Jeremy Williams and fellow forward Nick Frost ruled out and Taniela Tupou currently in Tonga for his father’s funeral.

While acknowledging the superiority of the back-to-back world champions’ pack, Parling said being more accurate in all facets of their gameplan, from their ruck clean-outs to their kicking, would help alleviate some of the physical pressure.

“It could have been a different game if we’d done our things better, and the review has been pretty direct with things we could do better, but mainly looking at opportunities as well,” he said.

“We lost the accuracy battle, which then fed into their physicality. They were good at retrieving their contestable kicks, for instance, whereas we weren’t.

“A few of our first set-piece plays probably didn’t go to plan, and all of that little bit of inaccuracy just fed into their physicality.

“The focus has been on more accurate in what we do. That might sound boring, but if we’re more accurate, then we’ll be further up the pitch.”

Parling said they slow start and ill-disicipline in Saturday’s loss came about due to their inaccuracy, and was something they could not afford to repeat in Perth.

“You do not want to give a team like South Africa entry points in your 22, you don’t want to give them ball,” he said.

“If you look at the first half, we didn’t have much territory at all.

“How can we exert our game? It’s just by being accurate when we get a chance to, through set plays, through our unstructured attack, defense, whatever it is.

“Discipline comes from being inaccurate — unfortunately, we were particularly inaccurate in those first 10 minutes of that game. “

The Springboks gobbled up territory and denied the Wallabies backs front-foot ball in Brisbane, but outside centre Len Ikitau felt Australia’s runners had room to grow.

“We missed a lot of opportunities out there last week, and for us, it’s making sure that we take those moments and capture those moments and move forward,” he said.

“We don’t want to be waiting for pictures, especially in the ‘A Zone’. In terms of backs getting involved there, we want to help our forwards out there.

“Take the tough carries and put them under pressure. We just need to step, us outside backs and take some of that responsibility.”

Parling also gave Perth-born Wallaby debutant Carlo Tizzano a vote of confidence after his baptism of fire against South Africa.

“He’s a little fireball, isn’t he? Gets stuck in,” Parling said.

“I actually met Carlo when he was 17, and he came across to the Rebels; he’s exactly the same kid.

“I thought he did some good things. Rips in, tries as hard as he could, and it was a solid debut.”