After naming three debutants in a below-strength side for Saturday night's Tri Nations opener at ANZ Stadium, De Villiers predicted Robbie Deans' team would react strongly to the Samoan defeat and look to exact revenge at the Springboks' expense.
Deans has made nine changes to the team surprisingly beaten 32-23 at the weekend and is demanding a vastly improved effort against the reigning world champions.
"It's always difficult when you come off a great Super Rugby (season) like this and your team (Queensland) has won it," De Villiers said when asked if any comfort could be taken from Australia's defeat.
"We all went through those kind of lows in our lives and it's a learning curve for all of us.
"What they took from it will determine how they are going to come into this game.
"They won't be undercooked against us. We know that."
Captain John Smit also expects a backlash from a Wallabies team still smarting from one of Australian rugby's most humiliating losses.
"There is no chance of catching them unmotivated now," he said.
"They will be motivated to turn things around.
"They haven't had a lot of time to get a particular pattern going.
"They've probably been able to talk about it but to really enforce it will take a game or two or three.
"We're going to have to expect everything (on Saturday night)."
Props Dean Greyling and Werner Kruger and loose forward Ashley Johnson will all debut for a South African side missing 21 frontline players.
De Villiers is banking on youthful exuberance making up for a lack of experience.
"I hope we can come together very well and very quickly in this game," he said.
"They (the new players) have a chance to play themselves into the World Cup squad and hopefully they take their chances."
South Africa starting line-up: Gio Aplon; Bjorn Basson, Juan de Jongh, Wynand Olivier, Lwazi Mvovo; Morne Steyn, Ruan Pienaar; Dean Greyling, John Smit, Werner Kruger, Flip van der Merwe, Johann Muller, Deon Stegmann, Danie Rossouw,
Ashley Johnson.
Replacements: Chiliboy Ralepelle, CJ van der Linde, Alistair Hargreaves, Jean Deysel, Charl McLeod, Adrian Jacobs, Patrick Lambie.
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