Desperate to avoid another demoralising defeat, Australian skipper Rocky Elsom has placed his Wallabies on red alert to the potent threat that Springboks sharpshooter Morne Steyn poses in Saturday night's Tri Nations series opener.

With ANZ Stadium expected to be under water amid Sydney's wettest July since 1950, South African captain John Smit will be instructing Steyn to punish Australia for their every infringement inside the Wallabies half.

Steyn has already amassed 172 points in his opening two Tri Nations campaigns.

Such a record haul guarantees the flyhalf superboot of becoming the highest scorer ever in their first three years in the tournament even if he fails to post a single point in 2011.

"When you get into a game that's potentially a little bit bogged down, points become a lot more valuable and with a bloke like him on the pitch, the discipline's got to be right up there," Elsom said on Friday.

"We've spoken about that as a group but I guess the proof will be in the performance tomorrow."

With the second-string Springboks entering the contest with three debutants and a total of nine players with 10 or less Test caps, Smit said Steyn's deadly right foot was more valuable than ever to the world champions.

"His kicks are really crucial goals for us in the last couple of seasons, so I'm pretty sure the Wallabies will realise he's a pretty big threat there when it comes to three-pointers," Smit said.

"Discipline on both sides will be crucial. But when there's kicks that need to go over, I'm pretty glad we've got Morne."

Despite the expected slippery conditions, Smit will also be ordering Steyn to release the Springboks little-known speedsters Bjorn Basson and Lwazi Mvovo.

"It's not just about kicking goals. He's got to be able to let the backs go," the Boks captain said.

"We've got two really fast, exciting wings and without a flyhalf who's operating they're not going to see much ball.

"So we not only need him to kick goals. We need him to play well and link between the forwards and backs."

Both sides transferred their captain's runs on Friday away from ANZ Stadium to restrict the damage to the playing surface that will no doubt cop a pounding during Friday night's NRL clash between Parramatta and Canterbury.

Elsom, though, wasn't bothered by the prospect of playing on a waterlogged and possibly decimated pitch.

"The game might be a little bit slower," he said.

"But if it's really badly cut up and it's really dry, it's probably more a concern.

"You've just got to deal with it. There might be patches that you don't want to scrum on, but the refs usually just move it off that.

"But there's nothing we can do about it anyway."

Elsom was confident superstar five-eighth Quade Cooper would recover in time to play despite missing Friday's session as he battled flu and gastro.

"I think he'll be fine tomorrow," he said.

The Wallabies will wear black arm bands as a mark of respect for Halley Appleby, the 21-year-old former schoolmate of winger James O'Connor who died on Monday after suffering brain and spinal injuries two days earlier while playing rugby for the University of Queensland.

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