The World Champions are in Australia playing in front of crowds for the first time since their demolition of England in the brutal 2019 World Cup final in Japan.
South Africa is the current 2019 Rugby Championship defending champs as well as 2021 British & Irish Lions series winners, and are favorites against the Wallabies on the Gold Coast.
- The Springboks have won their last two Tests against Australia, as many as they had won in their eight encounters prior (D2, L4); the last time the Boks won more successive games against the Wallabies was a three-game winning stretch from September 2012 to September 2013.
- Jacques Nienaber’s team is playing their first Test away from home since 2019.
- South Africa has won 15 of their 18 Tests since the beginning of 2019 and has won their last four Tests on the bounce; indeed, their 83% win rate since the beginning of 2019 is the best of any Tier 1 team in that time.
- Australia has lost their last three Tests on the bounce heading into this fixture; the last time they lost more in succession was a four-game stretch from June to August in 2018.
- The Wallabies have won three, lost six, and drawn three of their previous 12 Tests.
- South Africa has missed the fewest tackles per game (16) and has the highest tackle success rate (89%) of any team at the 2021 edition of The Rugby Championship; Australia’s tackle success rate of 82% is the lowest of any team.
- Australian duo Reece Hodge and Allan Alaalatoa are each set to play their 50th Tests for the Wallabies; they made their Test debuts just one week apart in August 2016 (Allan Alaalatoa – 20/08/2016; Reece Hodge – 27/08/2016).
Match detail
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In the meantime, why not have a look at the match preview.
1.00: PEEEEP! Welcome to country and anthems, done, now for the big game!
3.00: Eben Etzebeth wins the Aussie lineout, but the ball bounces out. Both teams using the boot early which was expected.
5.00: South Africa is winning the aerial battle, and they are kicking behind the Wallabies’ back three to good effect.
6.00: PENALTY! Handre Pollard opens the scoring from in front. 6-3
7.00: Duane Vermeulen and Lood de Jager pinged for not rolling away, Quade Cooper calls for the tee.
8.00: PENALTY! Cooper levels from 40 metres out. 3-3
10.00: A poor exit leads to a scrum penalty for the Boks.
12.00: PENALTY! Pollard makes no mistake. 6-3
13.00: The ref awards the Aussies a penalty after Wille Le Roux sells Pollard short outside his 22.
14.00: PENALTY! Cooper levels again. 6-6
16.00: YELLOW CARD! Siya Kolisi picks up Tom Banks above the horizontal, the fullback lands safely on his side, but the English ref thinks it’s a card. 6-6
17.00: Andrew Kellaway scores his fourth Test try after Samu Kerevi broke Faf de Klerk’s tackle, drew Pollard before releasing the winger, who cut inside Makazole Mapimpi and Willie Le Roux, and scored under the posts. Sublime try! 6-11
18.00: CONVERSION! Cooper adds the extras. 6-13
21.00: Marika Koroibete is isolated after running down a blind alley, Duane Vermeulen gets over the ball and wins the penalty.
22.00: MISS! Pollard cannot reduce the gap from 45 metres out. 6-13
26.00: The Boks opt to kick to the corner instead of taking the points.
27.00: No TRY! Am drops the ball over the try line when it looked easier to score. Poor from the centre, that was schoolboy level incompetence. Kolisi is back on. SA gets another pen and kicks to the corner. 6-13
27.00: YELLOW CARD! Matt Philip is off for taking the maul to the ground. 6-13
28.00: TRY! Mbongeni Mbonambi crashes over the chalk after another bulldozing driving maul by the Bok forwards. 11-13
29.00: MISS! Pollard pulls his kick past the posts. 11-13
31.00: Australia is slowing down the game while down to 14 players, they boot a penalty to the corner after Etzebeth infringes.
33.00: PENALTY! Cooper lands another goal. 11-16
37.00: South Africa is struggling, their discipline has been poor, conceding needless penalties. Australia has been smart, taking the points, running down the clock while outscoring the Boks during each yellow card.
39.00: A promising attack ends with Lodewyk de Jager’s tackle knocking the ball out of Allan Alaalatoa’s hands near the Springboks try line.
41.00: PENALTY! Cooper makes the Boks pay after the Wallabies scrum dismantled the World Cup winners. 11-19
The halftime score was Springboks 11 Wallabies 19
41.00: PEEEEP! We are back underway down under.
43.00: MISS! Pollard hits the left post from in front; that is terrible. 11-19
46.00: PENALTY! Pollard makes amends. 14-19
49.00: Mapimpi drops a regulation catch, scrum to the Wallabies.
51.00: YELLOW CARD! Le Roux is off for a deliberate knockdown. 14-19
52.00: PENALTY! COOPER extends! 14-22
56.00: Boks attacking but cannot find a way over.
58.00: YELLOW CARD! Folau Fainga’a is off for a chop tackle. 14-22
59.00: TRY! Malcolm Marx flops over the whitewash after another powerful driving maul. 19-22
60.00: CONVERSION! Pollard slots the kick. 21-22
63.00: PENALTY! Cooper hits his sixth goal. 21-25
65.00: This game is going down to the wire.
68.00: Aussies have a defensive scrum in their 22 but with only seven players.
72.00: TRY! Marx has his second, and 9th Test try. 26-25
74.00: MISS! Willemse misses. 26-25
76.00: Willemse makes a try-saving tackle on Reece Hodge after Hooper’s break.
78.00: A couple of reset scrums at the death.
82.00: PENALTY! Cooper wins the game for Australia! Wow, he slots the long-range penalty to beat the Boks. 26-28
FULL TIME
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The final score is South Africa 26 (11) Australia 28 (19)
Scorers
South Africa
Tries – Mbonambi, Marx (2)
Pen – Pollard (3)
Con – Pollard
Drop –
Cards – Kolisi (Yellow, 16′), Le Roux (Yellow, 51′)
Australia
Tries – Kellaway
Pen – Copper (7)
Con – Cooper
Drop –
Cards – Philip (Yellow, 27′), Fainga’a (Yellow, 58′)
Match Officials
Referee: Luke Pearce (ENG)
Assistant Ref 1: Damon Murphy
Assistant Ref 2: Jordan Way
TMO: Matthew Carley
Teams
South Africa
15 Willie le Roux, 14 Sibusiso Nkosi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siyamthanda Kolisi (captain), 5 Lodewyk de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Retshegofaditswe Nché, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marco van Staden, 20 Albertus Smith, 21 Jasper Wiese, 22 Herschel Jantjies, 23 Damian Willemse
Australia
15 Tom Banks, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Lachlan Swinton, 5 Matt Philip, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (50th Test), 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements: 16 Feleti Kaitu’u, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Rob Leota, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Nic White, 22 Reece Hodge (50th Test), 23 Jordan Petaia