Springboks suffer Wallabies defeat despite late fightback
South Africa trailed 42-17 before a late surge brought them within four points, but another error ended their hopes of an unlikely comeback.
The Springboks were far from their best when they lost 42-38 to the Wallabies in their one-off test in Perth today (September 27), reports The Citizen.
South Africa almost fought back from a 42-17 deficit at Optus Stadium, but a series of costly errors denied them what would have been a remarkable comeback.
The defeat was a bitter disappointment after the Springboks had won the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks.
It will hurt even more for André Esterhuizen, who became South Africa’s 68th test captain, and Jasper Wiese, who reached his 50th test milestone on the day.
Countless Springbok errors
Many of the Springboks’ mistakes may have been linked to the 13 changes made to the starting line-up.
Only nine players remained in the match-day 23 from the Springboks’ emphatic win against the All Blacks in Baltimore two weeks ago.
There was evidently a lack of cohesion, while the handling errors and poor aerial contests suggested a lack of game time and familiarity.
A string of knock-ons, in particular, proved costly, halting Springbok attacks while giving the Wallabies opportunities to counter.
Canan Moodie’s dropped pass, which was collected by Max Jorgensen for a try, summed up the Springboks’ afternoon.
Big Bok ‘bomb squad’, poor Wallabies discipline
The Springboks showed good intent early in the second half despite trailing 24-17.
All eight substitutions were made in the 47th minute, but they initially made little impact, despite seven of the replacements having impressed against the All Blacks.
Australia then scored 18 unanswered points before a penalty try was awarded to the Springboks with nine minutes remaining.
It was only when poor discipline began to cost the Wallabies, with four players in the sin bin at one stage, that the fightback appeared possible.
The Springboks still could not find the points they needed. Tries from Morné van den Berg and Ox Nché narrowed the gap before another error ended their hopes of stealing victory.
The Bok management will have to review the decision to make such sweeping changes and assess why their star-studded ‘bomb squad’ made less impact than expected.
Lonergan upstages Pollard
Springbok flyhalf Handré Pollard has a reputation for being clinical off the tee, having not missed a kick at the 2023 World Cup, but he was outperformed by Ryan Lonergan.
The Wallabies scrumhalf slotted his first seven kicks before missing a difficult eighth attempt.
Pollard converted all three of his attempts and may have had more opportunities had the Springboks not committed so many errors.
Lonergan’s yellow card for offside near the end, however, was costly for Australia.
Hotly contested breakdown
The breakdown battle was one of the few areas in which the Springboks enjoyed some success, although the Wallabies also gained dominance at times.
Referee Andrea Piardi was quick to award penalties for players holding on, and Paul de Villiers, Fraser McReight and others made full use of the opportunities.
No Springbok scrum dominance this time
While the Springboks will rue their lack of scrum dominance compared with their performance against the All Blacks, the Wallabies will take plenty of encouragement from their effort at scrum time.
Neither side appeared to gain much ground, even after Springbok forwards Ox Nché, Wilco Louw and Malcolm Marx came on in the second half.
It was only later in the game that the Springbok scrum finally got its reward.
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