Summary
Thank you for joining me tonight. Stay tuned for Angus Fontaine’s match report and further analysis during the week.
Next up for the Wallabies is a two-Test trip to Argentina, while the Springboks welcome the All Blacks to Ellis Park in what promises to be one of the Tests of the year.
I’ll see you back here soon.
Springbok Jesse Kriel is buzzing:
I think with Rassie, it is more about his mindset and encouraging us as players to go out there, express ourselves, not be scared to make mistakes. I think as a player it is probably the key to go out there and try things. He’s said to us,' ‘go out there, go with offloads, get the ball into the width, express yourselves’. I think with Tony Brown coming in, it’s complemented that. It is exciting to be part of this team at the moment and play the brand of rugby we’re trying to play. Really excited and really happy to be part of them.
The best thing about a really world class coach is how they can simplify and get messages across and make attacks simple. I think Tony does that in a way which is exciting as well. He gets the guys feeling like six-year-old kids at training, which is awesome at international rugby. He’s got really cool skill games and encouraging guys to get the games going, work on their passing and all the innovative moves, he’s getting guys stimulated, thinking about the game which I enjoy and I think a lot of the other guys are as well. You can see it on the field.
Schmidt:
I can’t fault the effort. Trying to combat a Springbok maul with a fully fit pack is tough enough. With kind of a little bit of half a pack, it became very difficult, then we ended up when Seru Uru got sin- binned, you know, that’s a really big ask.
I still am proud of the way that the guys fought their way through that second half. And the way that they stayed in the fight in the first half. It could have been... I know it could have been easy to stay, but it could have been 12--11 at half-time. That would have been a massive lift for the boys.
I do like how Schmidt speaks. He’s very matter-of-fact and would make a great pundit at some point. He doesn’t lay it on too think with his analysis.
This is the best team in the world. This is no easy side to play against at the moment and we want to be mixing it with those teams. You know, that was one of the positives about the first half. We mixed it, scrambled really well.
We knew that we had to move them around. We couldn’t just have a toe-to-toe battle with them. In our effort to do that, we undid ourselves a little bit. Maybe over-kicking or trying too heard to get the ball into some space. Not only are they very physical upfront, but very tough with their speed.
Joe Schmidt has the microphone. “Well, it was tough-going,” he begins…
I thought we almost got our nose in front at half-time which would have been a lift for the players. They were a little bit beaten up coming in at half-time, very physical as it always is against the Springboks. We’ve got a few guys who are walking wounded. We kind of just scrambled our way through the second half. Found it very hard to contain the maul with some of our bigger men out there. They capitalised on that. It made it pretty tough work. We had a couple of chances. Lukhan put one down in front of the posts we were close with. Those things really hurt us. On rebound, they made things very tough for us.
Eben Etzebeth lifts the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate as winners of the two-Test series.
I’d just like to say thanks to all the South Africans here tonight. You guys have been amazing the last two weeks in Brisbane and in Perth. It was a tough battle and obviously to the boys, what a great tour we had. Two weeks. It was the greatest. Thanks everyone.
The opposite is the case for the Wallabies who have come back to earth with a thud after victories over Wales and Georgia. While they hung in for longer tonight the same issues that have plagued Australian Test rugby for years showed up again to erase any chance of a victory.
Expect plenty of tactical analysis in the coming days on Australia’s willingness to kick away possession, especially cross-field. But such dissection should also note how crude the Wallabies were with ball in hand; it’s hardly as if they were turning down guaranteed points time and again.
The two matches of this mini-series could hardly have been played in more different conditions, but the outcome was the same in both. In Brisbane, South Africa thrilled with ball in hand. In Perth they kicked smartly and bulldozed their way over the line. Considering the volume of players Rassie Erasmus has used, the set-piece trickery, and the variety now at his disposal, this tour could hardly have gone better.
“They turned up, they played some good footy, they won the big moments tonight,” laments Harry Wilson. “I felt we weren’t far off, but we’ve got to win the big moments.”
We’re a new team, working hard together. Going to continue to work hard. We know if we keep working, improving, we will win those sort of moments. I guess just once we got a bit of front football, made a few silly errors, I guess we started to not do our fundamentals, what we pride ourselves op. That really hurt us in the second half.
Eben Etzebeth is first in front of the microphone.
It’s been an amazing two weeks coming down, getting two victories. It doesn’t happen a lot. The Wallabies are a quality outfit. I think the guys played well tonight and last week. Especially the first half. The shots were firing. We enjoyed it and knew they would come out hard tonight. That’s exactly what they did. Good result in the end.
On Rassie Erasmus making ten changes to the starting XV:
I think he’s a genius. They were great. Obviously the guys off the bench, they came on to finish. It was a good squad this whole tour.
Full-time: Australia 12-30 South Africa
South Africa A can sparkle when it’s dry. South Africa B can grind it out in the wet. Another excellent showing from the Springboks. Another chastening reminder of Australia’s place in the world rugby pecking order.
78 mins: Both sides are tiring and increasingly guilty of skills errors in these horrendous conditions.
75 mins: Australia gain some ground from a canny restart but then gift possession back with a sloppy lineout throw. The Springboks run! Through hands to the right to halfway. Then through hands to the left to the 22. Now Pollard kicks – to the right touchline – and du Toit’s there! What’s he doing out there!? Can he make the final 10m to the line? No! Superb tackle by Koroibete. Inches from the line the big No 7 tries to pop the ball up for a walk-in try but he fumbles it forward. Almost another majestic try for the visitors.
TRY! Australia 12-30 South Africa (Marx, 73)
The Springboks go back to the well. Du Toit accepts the lineout throw, the maul forms, it spins its wheels like a hoon doing doughnuts, and eventually gains traction, steamrolling over the weakened weary Wallabies and Marx flops over for his second try of the night.
Pollard adds the extras.
YELLOW CARD (Australia) Uru, 72
The lineout is solid and the maul looks to be gathering steam until its brought to ground by a gold jersey. Clear yellow card for the culprit, Uru.
72 mins: South Africa gain a penalty advantage on their 22. they expand from left to right and look dangerous but the ball goes to ground in the slippery conditions. The Springboks won’t mind. They get to kick to the left corner.
71 mins: Australia steal South African lineout ball. Uru crosses the gain line, then Hooper. Play stalls but Wilson makes good ground – but doesn’t release after contact and the Springboks win a penalty. Their defence is flawless. Du Toit on that occasion so strong and alert.
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70 mins: It’s an uncontested scrum so Koroibete gets a full run-up from first receiver. South Africa stand their ground and one phase later Salakaia-Loto coughs up a turnover and the Springboks clear.
69 mins South Africa think they’ve stolen the crucial lineout but it’s ruled a knock-on and the Wallabies will feed a 5m scrum.
68 mins: The lineout is sharp and the maul is full of intent. It splinters, earns a penalty advantage, and the Wallabies have go-forward. A couple of one-out phases bring them within 5m. Then play expands from left to right, but the connections are slow and the green wall moves out to meet it. Play returns to the original infringement with referee Williams warning the Springboks they’re at risk of a yellow card for repeat infringements. Australia kick to the left corner.
66 mins: Australia win a breakdown penalty after Nortje is penalised for a high shot. The Wallabies kick inside the 22 on the left.
TRY! Australia 12-23 South Africa (Marx, 65)
Again Nortje is the target for the throw. This time the maul forms. And this time a try is unstoppable with Marx the man with the ball in his hands at the base of the mass of green jerseys.
Pollard hits the crossbar from the right touchline!
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64 mins: Marx finds Nortje with the throw. There’s an immediate penalty advantage. The maul doesn’t gather momentum, the Springboks chip and chase but Jorgensen is alert to it and play returns to the infringement. Another kick to the right corner.
62 mins: South Africa with the penalty award 30m out bang in front for Lolesio not rolling away from the tackle. They kick to the right corner instead of going for the three points.
61 mins: A quick glance at social media: not a lot of love for Australia’s kick-heavy tactics.
60 mins: It’s all too unstructured for South Africa so they stuff the pill up their jerseys for a couple of phases then launch a bomb that Lolesio spills.
59 mins: Australia win the lineout and Lolesio again goes for the cross-field kick, but this time it’s too heavy for Koroibete.
58 mins: South Africa kick out on the full to gift Australia good field position, but they make little of it. The Springboks clear their lines miles, with a skidding bouncing ball that almost earns a 50/22.
56 mins: Australia win their own throw on halfway. White box kicks, the Springboks let it bounce, but get lucky with the second effort. Williams box kicks to Lolesio who continues his enterprising match by running… into traffic. He gets a second effort after White didn’t like anything in front of him. Both sides exchange kicks as play becomes stretched and unstructured. Lolesio reads the room and goes for the cross-field chip kick – and Jorgensen pouches it on the burst, streaking downfield. He tries the chip and chase over the last defender but the Springbok leaps high and palms a smother that’s grabbed at the second time of asking. Finally some dash from the Wallabies.
55 mins: Somehow, the rain is falling even heavier. The players are barely visible through the curtain of rain.
54 mins: The kick to the 22 on the left sets up a routine lineout and a massive maul! Wow, this is rumbling 10, 15, 20m! There’s a peeling runner hauled down on the line. The Springbok horde continues to press forward and Williams blows his whistle! For a penalty against van Staden! That looked a certain pushover try for South Africa but the Wallabies escape.
53 mins: Marx executes a textbook clutch lineout but Fassi cannot find touch. Australia respond with a kick of their own – cross-field – but South Africa are equal to it. They work through some pick-and go phases from right to left before chaging tack, kicking and chasing across halfway, Williams buying a penalty off Wilson for a soft obstruction.
51 mins: A Mexican Wave rolls around Optus Stadium (a sure sign of audience boredom) as another scrum takes an age to be fed. Australia win their feed and Jorgensen gets his first run in Test rugby. Everything’s narrow on the right channel as the Wallabies try desperately not to make a handling error. Lolesio changes the point of attack with a long cutout to the right but it soon ends in slow grinding ball. White concedes his side doesn’t have the guile to prise open such a solid defence and grubbers to the corner.
50 mins: With all the injuries, HIAs, and interchanges, an Australian scrum on halfway takes an age to be set. Once it’s released Lolesio launches a massive bomb that the onrushing Fassi knocks-on in the air.
49 mins: South Africa win their own throw on halfway. Feinberg-Mngomezulu hoists a Garryowen that chaos panic in the home defence but as the chasers try to capitalise on the bouncing bomb there’s a knock-on.
Jorgensen came on for Paisami, who is nursing a left leg injury. Now James Slipper is leaving for an HIA.
48 mins: Max Jorgensen is on for his Australian Test debut.
PENALTY! Australia 12-18 South Africa (Lolesio, 47)
Lolesio kicked one penalty off the crossbar in the first half, now he scuffs one over off the inside of the right post. They all count, and the Wallabies are back within a converted try.
46 mins: Australia get an opportunity to string some phases together just inside attacking territory. It’s still very narrow and lacking oomph, but it earns a penalty around 40m out just to the left of the posts.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 9-18 South Africa (van Staden, 44)
The lineout is simple, the maul forms, Australia stabilise initally, but then there’s a second almighty shove and the Wallabies are trampled over. A try is inevitable, it’s just a case of which green jersey emerges with the ball – and it’s van Staden. Classic Springbok rugby.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu curls over a nice conversion to extend the lead to nine points.
43 mins: South Africa win a simple lineout then kick high towards Wright, who marks easily. His clearing kick fails to find touch but the Springbok return is short. Lolesio takes the game on but he’s cut down brutally and is soon penalised on the ground. Australia are marched back 10m for Nic White’s backchat. South Africa kick to the right corner.
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41 mins: The Wallabies begin the second half with two new props as Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicks the restart long to Kellaway. White kicks to touch outside his 22.
The teams are back out for the second half. Who will see out the game the better in these awful conditions?
Half-time: Australia 9-11 South Africa
It’s not been pretty, in awful conditions, but Australia will be delighted to remain in the contest after their pummelling in Brisbane. South Africa have left plenty of points out on the sodden Optus Stadium turf, failing to capitalise on a number of fast breaks, but they retain a slender lead heading to the break.
PENALTY MISS! Australia 9-11 South Africa (Lolesio, 40)
Lolesio fluffs his lines from 25m out just to the right of the posts, slicing his effort badly.
40 mins: The lineout 20m from home reaches Wilson on the burst. Bell has a drive, then Wilson again, and he draws the penalty advantage on the ground. Lolesio takes the opportunity to hoist an up-and-under in Koroibete’s direction, but it comes to nought and play returns to the penalty.
39 mins: Australia’s scrum on halfway is reset before White can break. It’s set up for a Lolesio 50/22 kick – and it comes off!
37 mins: Feinberg-Mngomezulu kicks the restart out on the full.
PENALTY! Australia 9-11 South Africa (Lolesio, 37)
From 46m out, just to the right of the posts, Lolesio kicks the ball 46.1m, and watches it graze the back of the dot on the crossbar for three valuable points.
36 mins: Better lineout from South Africa but there’s a fumble a couple of passes infield and Feinberg-Mngomezulu is forced to hack clear. That sets up a kicking exchange that looks to work in Australia’s favour when Lolesio dummies, scampers 20m , then chips and chases. The No 10 is clearly tackled without the ball by van den Berg, but it’s not called in real time. Justice is eventually done after a brief pause and Lolesio accepts the opportunity to kick for goal.
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34 mins: After a scrum reset Australia are awarded a free-kick that White belts long downfield.
32 mins: South Africa kick ahead – an awkward wobbling bouncing ball on the try-line – but Paisami does well to scramble and slice clear. The Springboks continue their poor night of set pieces with an attacking throw called for not being straight.
30 mins: Australia with a nice scrum set play, shaping to cut from right to left then flinging the ball to Kellaway on the right. He makes good ground but a couple of phases later South Africa have the turnover. Again du Toit crosses the gain line with menace and the Springboks are soon grinding on the 22.
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26 mins: South Africa deal with the treacherous restart and van den Berg clears his lines. Wright does well in the air and allows the Wallabies to build just on the attacking side of halfway. Five phases come and go with little gain – it’s all very narrow and focussed on the shortside. Kolbe reads White’s intentions and picks off the interception, hurtling down the right wing at pace. With Wright in his way, Kolbe checks inside and accepts contact, but he’s too isolated. Koroibete then does well to interfere on the ground with his boot and there’s a green knock-on. Australia escape again.
PENALTY! Australia 6-11 South Africa (Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 26)
At the second time of asking Louw and van den Berg combine well at the base of the scrum to set South Africa in motion. There’s a penalty advantage against Bell for hitting the deck and the Springboks accept the three points. Feinberg-Mngomezulu dabs over from point blank range.
23 mins: Now it’s South Africa’s turn to ramp up the pressure after the restart. Neither side is comfortable claiming the ball in the air or on the ground. White clears to the 22 but the Springboks secure their lineout ball and work through four or five quick one-out phases. Du Toit is busy, driving to the 5m line. Etzebeth flares his nostrils. There’s a storm brewing on Australia’s line – until a gold jersey sticks out an arm and disrupts momentum. The Springboks settle for a 5m scrum in front of the posts.
PENALTY! Australia 6-8 South Africa (Lolesio, 21)
The Wallabies enjoy a good restart and are soon awarded a breakdown penalty in kickable range. Lolesio boots Australia back within two points from 37m out just to the left of the posts.
TRY! Australia 3-8 South Africa (Fassi, 18)
Stunning. Simply stunning. Paisami hits the South African defence at speed around 30m from the line. He’s robbed on the ground and in an instant the Springboks switch into a different gear. The ball goes through four pairs of hands to the left crisply, with each carrier eating up the wet ground. Eventually Mapimpi recognises the two v one in front of him but space at a premium on the left wing. He dabs a perfectly weighted grubber in behind the Australian line and Fassi steams onto it like Usain Bolt to gather and dive over the line. Magnificent stuff.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu cannot convert from the whitewash.
PENALTY! Australia 3-3 South Africa (Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 16)
Feinberg-Mngomezulu curls over the penalty to level the score.
14 mins: Another lineout steal for Australia, Salakaia-Loto pilfering the throw cleanly inside his 22. The Wallabies kick to touch and the Springboks regroup, grinding through the phases infield with du Toit leading the charge. They earn a breakdown penalty for Bell and Nasser not getting out of the way quickly enough.
12 mins: A second try bungled for the Springboks! This time the cross-field kick pays off for South Africa and Mapimpi has the whole left side of the pitch to run into, but as he bears down on the line Wright steams over and makes a magnificent despairing tackle, dislodging the slippery ball in the process.
11 mins: Australia clear, secure safe lineout ball but they can’t extract it at speed and a loose flick pack invites South Africa to squeeze up. Eventually White is forced to box kick, he overhits, and there’s an easy mark. Fassi’s clearing kick is poor though and the Wallabies are soon back in attack. Another poor kick – this time cross-field is taken easily by Feinberg-Mngomezulu. He kicks downfield for Koroibete to steam onto like a freight train, but he lacks support and the Springboks counter at pace through Kolbe, skipping through the raindrops and into Australia’s half. There’s an overlap on the right with Feinberg-Mngomezulu on his shoulder – but the pass is spilled! That was a five point fumble.
9 mins: South Africa’s first scrum feed ends with an Australian penalty! Huge win for the Wallabies. Morne van den Berg could have played the ball but he held on and the visitors were pinned for the front row going to ground.
7 mins: The second South African lineout of the night is much better and from 35m out they begin their first drive. It lasts five narrow phases before Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu makes an awful decision, attempting a cross-field kick that goes out on the full. No harm done though because the Wallaby lineout throw is dreadful.
Unsurprisingly, this has been an error strewn and uninspiring start in awful conditions.
5 mins: South Africa make a mess of their first lineout throw. The Springboks in the line looked like Keystone Cops – way too intricate for these conditions. Australia kick clear, the Springboks return fire, and Kellaway lets the greasy ball slip through his grasp and gift South Africa territory.
PENALTY! Australia 3-0 South Africa (Lolesio, 3)
Lolesio calmly slots over the three points from 30m out bang in front. That will steady the home nerves.
3 mins: The opening scrum of the night is reset. The overhead shot from the spidercam reveals the torrent of water pouring onto the two heaving masses. Australia stand their ground and exit cleanly. A couple of phases move infield from the left, led by Koroibete busting the gain line. Nothing flash, as you’d expect, and it draws a breakdown penalty against the Springboks. This is kickable.
1 min: South Africa knock on the bar of soap straight from the kick-off. Going to be one of those nights.
Kick-off!
We’re under way at the Perth slin-n-slide. Who will handle the conditions the better?
It’s so wet in Perth, Bobby van Jaarsveld looked like Rishi Sunak calling the British general election when he sung the South African national anthem. Then when the camera went along the line of Wallabies the fat droplets on the lens turned the scene into a magic eye picture. Slog ahoy!
And out they come, Australia in gold, South Africa in green, through a haze of smoke and pyro, and onto the sodden Optus Stadium turf. It looks grim out there.
The final high-fives, back-slaps and butt-pats are taking place in the changing rooms of Optus Stadium. Both sets of players are wearing their wet-weather anthem jackets for the pregame formalities.
Here’s more on the All Blacks continuing their extraordinary record at Eden Park against Argentina.
New Zealander Paul Williams is elevated from assistant referee in Brisbane to whistleblower in Perth.
Schmidt identified some specific areas of improvement.
I think a scrum has got to start better. It allowed them to release and get into our half or put big pressure into our corner. I thought our lineout defence in the maul was better. They got a try from a special move and I felt our defensive effort in the second half was better as well after we leaked points in the first half. The simple things are that we’ve got to be better at the contest, in the air and on the ground. And we gotta be able to get our spacing to be consistent defensively.
MATCH DAY 23.
— Wallabies (@wallabies) August 17, 2024
📅 Sat 17 Aug, 5:45PM AWST
🆚 South Africa
🏟️ Optus Stadium
🎟️ Link in bio
📺 @stansportau | @channel9 | @9Now#Wallabies #TRC2024 #WAtheDreamState pic.twitter.com/X331mP0C04
Joe Schmidt has just had a few words with the host broadcaster, starting with the conditions in Perth.
“Somewhat damper. Certainly arriving at the field today, some damp patches but a lot of very fast patches as well. It’s a little bit inconsistent and I’d say that’s probably similar to our performance last week. I felt we at least fought our way back into it in the second half – 12-7 second half – as opposed to letting them get away from us in the first half. We love to start well and keep a little bit of pressure on them and as long as we hang tough in what could be difficult conditions, then you’re always in with a shout.
Elsewhere in The Rugby Championship, the All Blacks rebounded strongly to last week’s upset, exacting revenge on Los Pumas at Eden Park.
50 undefeated at Eden Park 🔥#AllBlacks #NZLvARG pic.twitter.com/mR9r418eTb
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) August 17, 2024
The volume of green jerseys and South African accents in Brisbane made a mockery of Suncorp Stadium’s status as Australia’s fortress. And there are like to be even more Springbok supporters in Perth, a city where there is a strong migrant presence.
As expected, Erasmus is preparing his charges for a very different style tonight in wet and windy WA.
It's wet in Perth, where the action gets underway in just over an hour - let's hear from #Springboks coach @RassieRugby 🗣#ForeverGreenForeverGold #AUSvRSA pic.twitter.com/En7XV7eDfY
— Springboks (@Springboks) August 17, 2024
South Africa XV
In a sign of his confidence in the Springbok system, Rassie Erasmus has made 10 changes to his starting line-up including first starts for scrum-half Morne van den Berg and lock Ruan Nortje. Aphelele Fassi comes in at full-back, part of a back three that also includes Cheslin Kolbe and Makazole Mapimpi. Jesse Kriel keeps his place at outside centre and will partner Lukhanyo Am, who gets a rare run in the No 12 jersey.
“We made it clear from the outset this season that one of our main goals is to build squad depth with an eye on the next Rugby World Cup here in Australia,” Erasmus said, “and we feel there is no better way to test some of the younger players and assess where we are as a group against a top-tier nation, especially away from home.
“We have a group of about 45 players that are part of our wider squad this season and we’ve seen what most of these players can do. We have full faith in the younger generation of players coming through, and we feel this is the right time to test them against an Australian outfit that will be desperate to bounce back strongly from last weekend.”
15. Aphelele Fassi, 14. Cheslin Kolbe, 13. Jesse Kriel, 12. Lukhanyo Am, 11. Makazole Mapimpi, 10. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9. Morne van den Berg, 8. Elrigh Louw, 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6. Marco van Staden, 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Salmaan Moerat, 3. Thomas du Toit, 2. Johan Grobbelaar, 1. Jan-Hendrik Wessels.
Replacements: 16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Ox Nche, 18. Vincent Koch, 19. Eben Etzebeth, 20. Kwagga Smith, 21. Grant Williams, 22. Manie Libbok, 23. Handre Pollard
Australia XV
Marika Koroibete is the big inclusion for the Wallabies, coming in for the injured Filipo Daugunu. Under-fire Noah Lolesio retains his place at five-eighth but he has a new halves partner in Nic White. Angus Blyth replaces Nick Frost as lock, while there are two changes to the front row with Angus Bell and Josh Nasser replacing Isaac Kailea and Matt Faessler.
Joe Schmidt has brought the hyped 19-year-old Max Jorgensen onto the bench from where he is likely to make his Test debut, alongside fellow greenhorn Seru Uru.
1. Angus Bell, 2. Josh Nasser, 3. Allan Alaalatoa (c), 4. Angus Blyth, 5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Carlo Tizzano, 8. Harry Wilson, 9. Nic White, 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Marika Koroibete, 12. Hunter Paisami, 13. Len Ikitau, 14. Andrew Kellaway, 15. Tom Wright.
Replacements: 16. Billy Pollard, 17. James Slipper, 18. Zane Nonggorr, 19. Tom Hooper, 20. Seru Uru, 21. Tate McDermott, 22. Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen
Improbably for Perth the weather is dreadful. It’s been raining and blowing a gale all day and there are a couple of puddles on the field. There’s every chance South Africa return to type this evening and eschew the free-flowing running ruby of last weekend.
Today’s expected walkover for the Springboks had to be revised during the week when Rassie Erasmus announced a virtual ‘B’ team would sing the South African national anthem.
Angus Fontaine reflects on last week’s shellacking at Suncorp.
They strutted in but staggered out. With an unbeaten record under new coach Joe Schmidt and a formidable history at Fortress Suncorp, Australia was quietly confident of flexing its newfound muscle in a clash with the world champion South Africans. But the near-complete 33-7 annihilation by the Springboks will leave serious scars for the Wallabies.
Impotent in attack, dismantled in defence and embarrassed at set-piece, the Wallabies got a painful lesson in rugby basics from Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks and looked every inch the No 9-ranked contender against rugby’s heavyweight champs. Worst of all, the scoreline flattered neither side, with South Africa far from their clinical best.
Premable
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Australia v South Africa in round two of the 2024 Rugby Championship. Kick-off at Optus Stadium in Perth is 7.45pm AEST (5.45pm local).
This evening’s clash took on a whole different complexion around this time last weekend, when the Springboks were celebrating their one-sided victory in Brisbane. South Africa were awesome, demonstrating a new-found love for taking risks and broken field play. The Wallabies, meanwhile, were awful. Bullied at set pieces and disjointed in possession, Joe Schmidt’s first defeat was a serious wake-up call.
Irrespective of the outcome of today’s clash, Schmidt must get more out of his key performers. A two-thirds changed front-row should help, but the No 10 jersey remains problematic. Everyone needs to take responsibility for the myriad skill errors and breakdown penalties.
Theoretically, a stronger-looking Wallabies should close the gap on a weaker-looking Springboks with South Africa naming an experimental matchday 23. If they don’t, the already difficult task facing Schmidt will become monumental as he prepares Australia for next year’s Lions tour and the 2027 World Cup.
If you’d like to get in touch while I’m on, please fire all communication to jonathan.howcroft.casual@theguardian.com.
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