During a challenging match at the rain-soaked Perth Stadium, reigning world champions South Africa delivered a strong 30-12 defeat against Australia in the Rugby Championship. Noteworthy points came from fullback Aphelele Fassi and flanker Marco van Staden, both earning points from tries, along with hooker Malcolm Marx, who managed two more in the second half. This all came about from a heavily revised Springboks team as a consequence of their compelling victory last Saturday.
While Australia did present an improved physical challenge compared to their previous match in Brisbane, they rarely posed a threat to South Africa’s try line. They ended up settling for four penalties scored by their outhalf Noah Lolesio.
Eben Etzebeth, who filled in during the first half after Salmaan Moerat was taken off due to injury, commented on this impressive feat. “To score two victories in such quick succession is a rarity,” he shared. He lauded the effort of his Australian counterparts, stating they are “a high-quality team” and praised his team’s performance throughout the competition.
Hoping to bear a better start in contrast to their disappointing 33-7 loss the previous week, Lolesio secured Australia’s first penalty of the match in the third minute.
Owing to the heavy downpour, both teams had their fair share of slip-ups. Springboks’ Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Makazole Mapimpi both lost promising scoring opportunities, losing their grip on the slick ball in the process.
After Australia mishandled the ball again in the 17th minute, South Africa capitalized on their mistake, scoring the first try of the match. Quick passing got the ball to Mapimpi who sent it out to Fassi. In a head-to-head race with Australia’s Andrew Kellaway, Fassi was the clear winner as he touched down the ball.
With a series of mishaps from Lolesio and Feinberg-Mngomezulu, penalties were exchanged back and forth. Despite three successful tries by Lolesio, a fourth try eluded him, leaving the Springboks with an 11-9 lead by halftime.
Van Staden managed to cross the line from a rolling maul just three minutes into the second half, but it was Lolesio’s fourth penalty execution that reduced the gap to 18-12 after 47 minutes.
Following several earlier attempts that didn’t quite reach the mark, Australia successfully executed a crosskick in the 57th minute of the match. This feat was accomplished by young Max Jorgensen, who was playing his first game as a substitute winger. He displayed impressive speed, carrying the ball a substantial 40 metres before his advance was hindered.
Unfortunately, this did not signal a turnaround in their fortunes, as South Africa managed to score next. This was achieved by replacement hooker Marx who, riding at the tail end of a maul, crossed the line in the 64th minute.
Australia’s situation took a further hit when they faced the last eight minutes of the game a man down, following a yellow card for another fresh-faced player, substitute flanker Sere Uru. Marx leveraged this advantage and promptly scored a second try courtesy of another catch-and-drive.
Harry Wilson, Australia’s number eight, observed their opponents had shown up and played strongly. Highlighting that while they narrowly missed out on some key opportunities, they were in close contention. He acknowledged that winning those significant moments was where improvement needed to be focused on.
Following this match, South Africa are set to play against the All Blacks in consecutive home matches. On the other hand, Australia are headed to Argentina for their next two matches in the southern hemisphere Test championship.