Springboks exact revenge over Wallabies in Cape Town to get Rugby Championship hopes back on track
Springboks wing Canan Moodie celebrates his try against the Wallabies with his captain Jesse Kriel.
The Springboks survived an almighty scare as they held on for a hard-fought 30-22 triumph against the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship Test in Cape Town on Saturday.
After suffering a shock defeat against the same opposition in last weekend’s corresponding fixture in Johannesburg, the world champions had to dig deep to avoid a similar result and they did just that after both sides scored three tries apiece.
Canan Moodie, Kwagga Smith and Eben Etzebeth crossed the whitewash for the Boks while Handre Pollard, who was the official man of the match, finished with a 15-point haul after succeeding with three conversions and as many penalties.
For the Wallabies, Corey Toole, Max Jorgensen and Brandon Paenga-Amosa dotted down and their other points came via the boot of James O’Connor, who slotted two conversions and a penalty.
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However, despite impressing with his overall play, O’Connor missed two penalties and a conversion in the final quarter which proved costly in the grander scheme of things and the Boks’ victory means they retain the Mandela Challenge Plate.
The Boks made the brighter start and raced into a 6-0 lead courtesy of two Pollard penalties during the early exchanges. Meanwhile, the Wallabies were battling to settle and suffered a setback when Tom Wright was forced off due to a leg injury as early a the fourth minute.
That did not deter them, however, and in the eighth minute Nic White caught the Boks napping when he played quickly from a free-kick close to his opponents’ 22-metre line.
He then stabbed a teasing grubber kick through which Toole gathered before crossing for his first try on his Test debut.
O’Connor added the extras but the Wallabies lead did not last long as the Boks were soon on the attack close to Australia’s try-line.
The ball was recycled quickly before Pollard launched a cross-field kick which bounced behind the Wallabies’ try-line and Moodie gathered before crossing for his side’s first five-pointer.
Despite that score, Australia did not panic and thought they had regained the lead in the 14th minute when Andrew Kellaway caught Pollard in possession deep inside his 22.
The ball was knocked from Pollard’s grasp in contact before Fraser McReight gathered and crossed the whitewash. Referee James Doleman initially awarded the try before television replays revealed that Kellaway had knocked the ball on while tackling Pollard.
The next 20 minutes was an arm wrestle as both sides battled to gain the ascendancy and the match was characterised by plenty of territorial kicking from both sides as they attempted to gain the upper-hand.
The match eventually came alive in the 35th minute when the Wallabies were pinned inside their 22 and the home side were soon on the front foot courtesy of a barnstorming run from Ox Nche, who was stopped just short of the whitewash.
The ball then came out to Smith, who stepped past two defenders before dotting down under the posts. That five-pointer did not discourage the Wallabies, who continued to stay in the fight and on the stroke of half-time O’Connor slotted a penalty which meant the hosts held a 20-10 lead at the interval.
The Wallabies were fastest out of the blocks after the interval and in the 46th minute Moodie failed to gather a teasing kick from O’Connor inside his 22. The Boks speedster knocked the ball on and Jorgensen pounced before cantering in for his side’s second try.
O’Connor made no mistake from the kicking tee which meant the Springboks were now holding a slender 20-17 lead and there were some nervous looks on their fans’ faces in the crowd at the DHL Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Wallabies’ confidence grew although Pollard gave the home side some breathing space when he slotted his third penalty in the 57th minute.
However, in the 68th minute Australia reduced the Boks’ lead to a single point when Paenga-Amosa barged over for their third try from close quarters after a Wallabies lineout drive was stopped just short of the whitewash in the build-up.
Crucially, O’Connor was off target with his conversion attempt which would have given his side the lead and the hosts made them pay when Etzebeth went over for his five-pointer in similar fashion to Paenga-Amosa’s, five minutes later.
Pollard showed his class to slot his conversion which gave his side an eight-point lead and although the Boks finished the match with 14 players, after Aphelele Fassi was yellow carded for a deliberate knock down on defence, they kept the Wallabies at bay in the game’s dying moments to avenge last weekend’s loss to the Wallabies at Ellis Park.
The teams
Springboks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel (c), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Lood de Jager, 21 Andre Esterhuizen, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Wallabies: 15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Corey Toole, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Nic White, 8 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight (c), 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 Tom Robertson
Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Nick Champion de Crespigny, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Andrew Kellaway
Referee: James Doleman (NZR)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (NZR), Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
TMO: Richard Kelly (RA)
FPRO: Tual Trainini (FFR)