South Africa and Australia have played out a tense fifth-round Rugby Championship match at Loftus Versfeld, with the Springboks running out eventual winners by 18 points to 10 in Pretoria.
All the wash-up from Springboks vs Wallabies:
» LORD: Steyn’s boot sinks wasteful Wallabies
» Match report: Wallabies fall short
» McMahon injures ankle
» What changes should the Wallabies make for Argentina?
» DIY player ratings
» Re-live all the action with our live blog
» Watch highlights from the match
The Springboks will be ecstatic to arrest their form slide after losing their past three matches away from home, and give their fans something to smile about back on home soil – while the Wallabies will be left ruing having let a chance to claim a historic first win in Pretoria pass them by.
Execution
Both sides were guilty at times of some unforced errors, a forward pass here, careless knock on there, but I felt this was a killer at times for the Wallabies, particularly in the first 20 of the second half.
Several grand attacking opportunities went amiss through poor handling or failure to clean the ruck and would be frustrating for the group as a whole and disappointing given the improvements the side had made recently.
Accuracy with ball in hand will be a consideration for Coach Michael Cheika and his squad as they now look to London and their last match against Argentina.
Defence
Both sides will be reasonably happy with their work tonight, in particular the Springboks who showed more commitment and intensity in this area than in previous weeks, perhaps the entire season.
Francois Louw played his best game of the year and along with Captain Adrian Strauss, was a menace for the Wallabies all night.
Given the injuries suffered as well which resulted in Jaco Kriel filling in on the wing for a quarter of the game, a good all-round effort.
Set piece
Clear wins here for South Africa as the Wallaby lineout woes resurfaced, losing three and under pressure on several occasions while the replacement front row was dominated by their opposites.
Referee Wayne Barnes was hard on James Slipper who struggled up against the Springboks’ Julian Redelinghuys and Tom Robertson had a hard time when he came on for his time from the bench.
The scrum was an issue for the Wallabies in the last quarter of the match with scrappy ball and conceding penalties allowing the Springboks to gain the ascendency at crucial stages.
Morne Steyn
Love him or hate him, he was a major influence towards the Springboks victory, converting four of his five penalty attempts and nailing two drop kicks, scoring all of the South Africans’ points.
His kicking game and game management was crucial to the Springboks’ effort and will afford Coach Allister Coetzee some relief in an area the Springboks have struggled in 2016.
The Springbok attack still looks stagnant at times but is an area that can be built upon as combinations settle.
Israel Folau
Even for the staunchest Folau supporter, his recent form will cause concern. There is no doubting the man’s ability but he is not the force he could and probably should be.
Too often he is placing his side under pressure with poor options, particularly with ball in hand where his side is too often placed under pressure through an attempted offload and carrying too far, allowing himself to get isolated and in trouble.
Perhaps it is a case of trying too hard at times but the Wallabies need to get Folau firing and back in top form.
Five major talking points from me to consider from this Test match – what would be your discussion points, Roarers?
Smiggle Jiggle
Roar Guru
Folau needs to move to the wing, and DHP to FB.
Zac McLean
Roar Pro
Is anyone else frustrated with how we play in the opposition team's 22? I feel we play great rugby in the middle of park - and in our own 22 - but get very cramped and predictable when close to the try line. Is this a deliberate game plan or just a team panicking under pressure?
Carlos the Argie
Roar Guru
But it is not only Barnes! Peyper also went to Argentina to watch the AB-Pumas game. He let Stuart Berry interfere, he never switched on his mic, he had this goofy smile for a long time. Never really imposed himself on Read about the off-sides play. The game deteriorated, maybe not primarily, but under his (lack of) command. And then he lets diva like behavior form the Pumas to influence cards. I know that Velez Sarsfield is a soccer stadium, but soccer antics should not be part of the rugby game. Again, Peyper could have sent them off for a ding dong test and you would see how quickly they stand up.... If the ref doesn't set the tone, everything else falls apart.
Carlos the Argie
Roar Guru
Armand's comments are very good. One doesn't need to "like" how a player performs if he doesn't make many mistakes and scores points with his feet. May not be flashy but it is efficient. I never liked Barnes reffing. I always found him pedantic. And his positioning in the rucks makes it very difficult for him to police the off-sides line. It is interesting that despite being considered a top referee, his positioning is still weak. I am not sure if the World Rugby referees has new guidance on where to place. At least, I have not received them. Maybe a proper evaluation of the efficiency of the ref positioning at the different stages is necessary. I did get it at the line-out time when taking the training courses. But that was it.
jeznez
Roar Guru
I thought it was fair - reckon he put himself there on purpose and deserved to go. No complaint from this Wallaby supporter.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Yep, Louw and Strauss schooled us there. As I posted over on the Wallaby DIY ratings. The fact that Tom Robertson was able to break from an under pressure scrum look up and see that Fardy needed a third body to clean out and get there before the other four Wallaby forwards shows the head space for the ruck and ball security just wasn't there at the death. The squad need to lift significantly in that area.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Ah but if Kerevi were to move to 12 and Foley to the bench might the switch work then? Biggest concern would be Folau's defensive capability but Kuridrani could be brought on to shore things up if needed. 9. Genia 10. Cooper 11. Naivalu 12. Kerevi 13. Folau 14. Hodge 15. Haylett-Petty 21. Phipps 22. Foley 23. Kuridrani Note - Hodge is to the right wing so he can play the second fullback role with DHP, he would no longer need to defend at 12 with Foley standing in the defensive hooker position at lineout time as well.
Paul Mooney
Guest
It seems Cheika and Larkin are both poor selectors/coaches. The Wallabies are losing supporters in their droves because of this. Larkin keeps telling us that Filau is the best fullback in the world. Right wing is where he should be and stay, outside centres Hodge (12) and Kerevi (13). Halves should be Genia and Foley. Cooper should be nowhere to be seen. Haylett-Patty in 15 and Koroibete in 11 when available. Simmonds is useless and why gamble on the change of front row when a win is in sight? And don't we know how to set up for a possible field goal. Overall boring and amateurish to watch apart from the first 20 minutes.
Timbo (L)
Guest
5 Talking points: Players out of form or missing skills. -Folau -Foley/Cooper -Mumm -Hooper -Players out of position The Breakdown - Jackal - Protection - Strauss The Front Row - Sio - Robertson - Slipper - Scum Collapse The Line out - Loss against the throw - Mumm Sean McMahon's Replacement for Twickenam. - Fardy - McCalman - Timani - Houston - Gill
Bobbles
Guest
Mumm is a terrible 6..When will chiecka realize he is a powder puff..You need an abrasive 6.He is soft as margarine. .
Timbo (L)
Guest
Barnes Called it from 20m away, without looking at the TMO. Even if it was justified, it deserved due diligence. It was no worse than when Foley was taken out. In my opinion, Folau put himself in a bad position through indecision and an inability to read the game. Habana ran into him, not the other way round - you can't expect to kick through a tackler and not make a serious effort to go around them.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
As I Digger
tsuru
Roar Rookie
If you see this in the slow motion replay it seems clear to me that Folau deliberately impeded Habana. No question. Even the look on his face as he walked off seemed to say "Well, I got pinged but I saved a try." As for the other comments here about Barnes - I posted this on another thread here but it seems even more relevant in this context:- "Pity the poor ref. He's copping a lot over these incidents and the forward passes. It seems to me Barnes is attempting to tread the line between keeping the game flowing and penalising every infraction. No question that he let some forward passes go and allowed some players to be taken out off the ball. But we have the benefit of being able to replay and see which ones would or would not have mattered. He needs to decide on the spot." So I think Barnes was attempting to keep the game going and the entertainment level up. Kind of like an informal advantage law. Having said that, Kerevi would almost certainly have scored - In fact, as I remember it, Cooper was looking/twisting to his left to offload to Kerevi. Surely an assistant at least should have seen that.
Ding Dong
Guest
Agreed on DHP as the 15. Agreed on Folau as an option at 13. He could well be shifted to the wing as well. Didn't do too badly there under Deans. Find some form on the wing and a move to 13 could be on the cards. Unlucky to Kerevi though, but Folau is so lethal when in form. Hodge to 12. It would be great if Dean Mumm found some form to justify his starting position. Combination with another low-impact type player in Simmons takes a lot away from the Wobs pack. Wish Hanson had a run too. South Africa just made less mistakes in the right places.
jameswm
Roar Guru
What about obstructing Kerevi when he was supporting a Cooper half break near the line? How was it any different?
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
True Machpants, as I felt, he certainly changed into a " Pied Peyper," in the second stanza.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Hi Digger, Nice assessment, on the game, But on Wayne, mate, I do think, enigma, is an understatement. .
Die hard
Roar Rookie
Great post
Old Bugger
Guest
Me too. Izzy moves to his right before, he pirouettes and throws his arms in the air, and finds himself in Habana's running line. If Izzy didn't change his line and block Habana's progress, then Habana who did change his running line to avoid Folau, could've regained the ball and put the SBs, into an attacking position. That was a try saving act by Folau except, it was correctly called and seen, as an act of cynical and foul play.
Old Bugger
Guest
You're too kind DC.......!!