Even without their obviously dominant scrum neutralised where shoving was not allowed as the Wallabies did not have a replacement for (an already replacement) prop James Slipper who went off with a knock to the head for most of the second half, the Springboks won the second test against the Wallabies convincingly 30-12, scoring four tries without reply in Perth on Saturday.
The halftime score was 11-9.
The victory gives South Africa their second full-house of five log points in the Rugby Championship.
The so-called Springboks B-team, seen by Australians as a slight to their national team after coach Rassie Erasmus had made 10 changes for the second test to give all of the 33 touring Springboks who didn’t pay in the first test a test run, grew stronger as the match went on.
The Aussies’ outcry about Erasmus’ team selecton and the heavy rains before, and later also during, the match mattered little as the visitors, despite too many errors in their execution, were even better than the scoreline suggests.
■ SA Rugby reports that Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus lauded the players for stepping up under challenging circumstances in their second Castle Lager Rugby Championship Test against the Wallabies to claim their second bonus-point win in as many weeks.
Traditionally, the Boks’ record in Australia is not great, but the 30-12 victory at Optus Stadium was South Africa’s third on the bounce Down Under, dating back to the 24-8 win in Sydney two years ago.
Erasmus copped some flak for making 10 changes to his starting team for the clash, and over and above that, severe weather warnings threatened to disrupt the game, yet the Boks rose to the challenge to score four tries without reply by the Wallabies.
“We are always pleased with a win, and to get two bonus-point wins over here and the fact that all 33 players on tour played was fantastic,” said Erasmus.
“The weather was challenging, we lost our captain [Salmaan Moerat] early on with concussion, and we made 10 changes to the starting team, but that didn’t disrupt the team, so overall it was a pleasing result.
“There were a few more tries that we could have scored, so it could have been a bigger winning margin, but we are pleased with earning five points two weeks in a row.
“We would have just been happy with victories, so it was very rewarding, although it was not beautiful rugby out there because of the conditions.”
Eben Etzebeth, who stepped in as captain after Moerat was forced to leave the field due to concussion, was equally delighted with the win: “It was a good start to the Castle Lager Rugby Championship for us to get the two bonus-point wins, but we know facing the All Blacks next will be massive.
“It took a big squad effort in the last two weeks, and everyone deserved their chance (to play). The guys who started laid a good foundation for the replacements and it was great to see them perform at this level. It shows the depth we have in this squad.”
‘Step up for All Blacks challenge needed’
Looking ahead at their next challenge against New Zealand, Erasmus expected a huge onslaught from the All Blacks, who registered a 42-10 victory against Argentina earlier on Saturday after the Pumas recorded a shock-win in Wellington a week ago.
“We saw how New Zealand turned things around after last week’s result, so we know the challenge that awaits us – it will certainly require another step-up,” said Erasmus.
“With all due respect to Australia, they are in a rebuilding phase and Joe Schmidt is also still finding his feet, so the next two Tests will be tougher.
“We are facing them at altitude in Johannesburg and then in Cape Town where they enjoy playing, so we are excited about what will be almost a mini-series against them.”
Erasmus also expressed his gratitude to the passionate Springbok supporters in Australia in the last two weeks, saying: “We’d like to thank the supporters both in Brisbane and Perth. The support at training during the games was fantastic and we are pleased that we could thank them with these results.”
Scorers in the test match:
Australia: Penalties: Noah Lolesio (4 )
South Africa : Tries: Aphelele Fassi, Marco van Staden, Malcolm Marx (2). Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2). Conversions: Feinberg-Mngomezulu , Handré Pollard.
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
