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After a run of defeats the Wallabies will finally get their hands on a trophy, winning the Nelson Mandela Plate, in a performance that was too strong for South Africa in Brisbane taking victory 23-17.
There were concerns early after Warren Whitely crossed for the fastest try ever scored by the Boks against the Wallabies.
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Despite the Wallabies looking creative, they were soon to go down by a second try, after captain Adriaan Strauss expertly picked off a Bernard Foley pass with the Wallabies hot on attack, feeding Elton Jantjies who coolly slipped a kick through for Johan Goosen to run onto and score easily.
At 14-3 down it didn’t look good for the home side, but there was never a feeling that South Africa were dominating, and slowly but surely the Wallabies worked themselves back into the game.
The try came before halftime courtesy of a decision to turn down 3 points followed by a drive to the line, where Genia switched to the blind, looping a long pass to Adam Coleman, who crashed over for his first test try.
The second half started brightly for the Wallabies, who went a man up after Eben Etzebeth was sin-binned for not rolling away at a ruck.
They didn’t quite nail their advantage, but did look the stronger side, until eventually their second try came after sustained pressure – Bernard Foley running with purpose to score next to the posts.
A thrilling finish looked to be in store but the game strangely degenerated after that – the Boks seemingly without the collective purpose and flair to find a try, and the Wallabies seemingly too scared to step up and win the game on their own terms.
Too often they kicked the ball away instead of putting pressure on the Boks, but in the end it mattered not, and the Boks failed to come close to a final try which might have snatched the game.
For the winners, the set piece was much better tonight – not perfect, but certainly improved in the lineout, and the Wallabies scrum was dominant. Michael Hooper was strong all night, in attack and defence.
Will Genia was again very efficient at halfback, and it was great to see Quade Cooper once again creating play. His combination with Foley was better tonight. Credit too to both wingers, Dane Haylett-Petty and Reece Hodge who were busy all night.
For South Africa, some good performances up front, but once again, they seem to lack cohesiveness and a clear identity under Allister Coetzee – at least so far.
They got good value from their bench, and it was good to see captain Adriaan Strauss much more prominent tonight.
But, at the end of the day, they weren’t really good enough to win, and the Wallabies weren’t really bad enough to lose.
Still plenty to work on for both teams – the Boks will need to find at least ten more gears next week in New Zealand, while the Wallabies will face Argentina in a much more positive frame of mind.
Final Score:
Australia 23
South Africa 17