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Summary
- 27 m ago
Full day: Australia 8-24 South Africa
- 28 m ago
Yellow card! South Africa (Le Roux, 79)
- 29 m ago
TRY! Australia 8-24 South Africa (Samu, 79)
- 38 m ago
Conversion! Australia – South Africa 3-24 (Steyn, 73)
- 39 m ago
Yellow card! South Africa (Mapimpi, 72)
- 43 m ago
TRY! Australia – South Africa 3-22 (Mapimpi, 71)
- 1 hour ago
TRY! Australia – South Africa 3-17 (Mostert, 43)
- 2 hours ago
Middle: Australia 3-12 South Africa
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TRY! Australia 3-12 South Africa (Moodie, 39)
- 2 hours ago
Penalty! Australia – South Africa 3-7 (Lolesio, 32)
- 2 hours ago
Yellow card! Australia (Philip, 10)
- 2 hours ago
TRY! Australia – South Africa 0-7 (de Allende, 10)
- 2 hours ago
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South Africa XV
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Australia XV
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preamble
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Summary
Jonathan Howcroft
After Australia dominated in Adelaide, South Africa turned the corner in Sydney. Two contrasting results that provide more questions than answers.
The Springboks changed a lot, but the reshuffle worked. They ran out of the blocks and never let up the momentum. There were few highlights, but the most memorable was undoubtedly the arrival on the international scene of teenager Canan Moodie. His first attempt, leaping over Marika Koroibete without a care in the world, would be repeated for years to come.
Around that moment of magic there wasn’t much else to rhapsodize about. Three yellow cards, endless turnovers, constant lies and countless heartless kicks made for a shameless show in what should have been a banner night for Sydney’s revamped football stadium.
As James Slipper remarked after the game, the Wallabies never fired a shot. They were poor in all facets of the game, especially at the breakdown of possession, and Rennie’s 6-2 exchange game was derailed by injuries to Noah Lolesio and Hunter Paisami.
Once again, Aussie fans are left scratching their heads wondering who the real Wallabies are: the side beaten tonight and in Argentina, or the ones who flourished in Adelaide? What better way to find out than a Bledisloe double header?
Check back with us on Thursday, September 15 for the first installment. Until then, thanks for sticking with me, and stay tuned for all the reaction and analysis.
Updated at 12.54 BST
The Bledisloe Cup is now on the horizon and Australia will not be receiving it as cheerfully as expected after today’s results.
Australian skipper James Slipper pulled no punches.
It was disappointing. I felt that the first half we played in our end of the pitch and put pressure on ourselves. A poor week of discipline. We talked about it this week and it’s disappointing to put ourselves under pressure. It felt like we didn’t fire a single shot. We knew what kind of game was coming in these conditions. Great set pieces and kicking plays and we got stuck in.”
My POTM, Siya Kolisi, was usually unbiased in his post-match comments.
This week we just took the opportunity. I think last week we created so many chances in the first half and didn’t take any of them. Today we took advantage of most of the opportunities we had. Our system was good. It’s been good the last few weeks. Just the courage the boys showed. People hurt at home. It’s been a long drought for us. 11 games without a win here and it’s great for us as a group.”
Starting midfielder Damian Willemse is named player of the match. I’m not sure it would have been my choice in a contest so dominated by decay.
Jesse Kriel was understandably happy with his team’s showing. “Fantastic game today. I think the lads stood up,” the center told Channel 9. “We talked about it this week. We’re really looking forward to beating the Wallabies here in Australia. Something we’ve been struggling with lately two years. It’s a quality moment and we showed that last week. Defensively we stood up and knew what they could do with the ball if they got their hands on it. We bounced back.”
Full day: Australia 8-24 South Africa
Lots of incidents, not a lot of quality rugby. South Africa deserved winners.
Updated at 12.33 BST
Yellow card! South Africa (Le Roux, 79)
South Africa are down to 13 men with Le Roux still pinging for his deliberate partnership.
Hodge misses the conversion.
TRY! Australia 8-24 South Africa (Samu, 79)
A late run from the Wallabies. First they win a scrum penalty and then they win more yards with a cap penalty. Inside South Africa’s white 22 is busy recycling the ball and the gold shirts mark the line. Space opens up on the left and a try is called for, but there’s a deliberate strike! No trouble, lead is called and the pass is late and Samu touches the corner.
77 mins: Kellaway gets the crowd to clear their throats with a run down the left but things get too cute in the next phase and Koroibete taps over. We are ready for the final whistle ref.
76 mins: Australia try to get away from the back of the scrum near half-off. The angles are deep and the ball is slow and phase after phase it moves away forcing a long and desperate kick. Yuk.
74 mins: South Africa are about to end some hoodoos. The Wallabies are back in no man’s land. Also, it changes.
Conversion! Australia – South Africa 3-24 (Steyn, 73)
Francois Steyn comes off the bench to score a beautiful curling conversion from the left touchline.
Yellow card! South Africa (Mapimpi, 72)
The try scorer is sent to the bin for his reaction to Koroibete. The game will restart with an Australian penalty on the halfway line for Etzebeth attacking Alaalatoa.
The TMO concludes that “it all starts after the actions of the 11 green”.
The TMO confirms the try, then takes a look at the backs, starting with Etzebeth throwing her weight around. The “yellow card” is clearly heard on the reference microphone.
TRY! Australia – South Africa 3-22 (Mapimpi, 71)
This was like a repeat of last week when Koroibete cannonballed the South African winger. The Australian tried in vain this time, and when he failed, Mapimpi let him know and shirts flew from all angles.
Makazole Mapimpi scores a try. Photograph: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Updated at 12.24pm BST
South Africa confirm their dominance with a flying Mapimpi which is launched into the left corner. But that’s just a note on the sidelines of an all-in that explodes as bodies hit the line, and soon there were spot fires everywhere!
The TMO will be busy.
“Good afternoon Jonathan,” emails a delighted Trover Tutu, “from a Cape town where the sun has come out to celebrate a dominant Springbok performance. Long live it.” Continuing the pathetic weather fallacy, it’s cold and wet in Sydney.
69 min: Valetini has made a change and hits the line hard again to put in a quick ball and go ahead. A penalty appears to have been earned, but it’s not the first time the Wallabies have lost it tonight as Porecki is called for high contact in the ruck.
67 min: South Africa, barring a couple of mild alarms, have controlled this game from the start. That said, they haven’t threatened much despite their dominance, and for the umpteenth time coughed up cheap balls when there were more.
65 mins: Lovely lineout, muscular maul, cheeky chip and chase, and Australia have to accept the lineout.
63 min: Swain disrupts the lineout and Valetini completes the steal! A morale booster deep in the Wallabies defence: can it spark a comeback? No. Kolisi, man of the match by a mile, completes another breakdown masterclass to set his side up in attacking territory. There is little invention with the ball in hand, not that there is any urgency for South Africa to be, but it makes Valetini’s turnover all the more frustrating. Le Roux then misses a long range goal. Rugby with champagne this is not. It’s not even a sparkling white wine from a region outside of eastern France that cannot, for legal reasons, be called champagne.
Updated at 12.07 BST
62 mins: A more conventional lineout is caught and offloaded and around the back Allende gathers momentum and drives 10m after contact to cross the tryline but is in no danger of touching down. The Springboks are again invited to kick in the left corner.
60 mins: South Africa pinch Fainga’a’s throw and this cheeky stop-start game has another turnover. The Springboks play the conservative game, which is fine when the Whites go all out with their spending. Marx tries to steal the initiative with a quick alignment, but it’s all a bit messy. They are rescued with a hit against Samu.
58 min: Marx gets off the back of the maul and takes contact but the ball is slow so Hendrikse shoots. Soon after, South Africa are penalized for the breakdown after Wright’s mark.
I’m not going to lie, a lot happened back then and I didn’t understand the whole timeline. In short, the Springboks were on the back foot, about to get a yellow card, but now they’re throwing a lineout halfway through.
The Wallaby prop hits the ruck a little high and it’s an indiscretion that sees the penalty overturned. Australia’s brief spell of attack is over.
Now we have a delay for the TMO to take a look at something Alaalatoa has done in a clearance. Stand by.
55 mins: Another excellent lineout, the Wallabies want a maul but South Africa hold back. However, they concede another penalty lead in the process, so Australia try to attack in broken play. Koroibete tries to do it all himself, but the Springboks are wise to it. Valetini hits hard on the line and goes high. O’Keeffe has a selection of penalties to choose from and unsurprisingly he has a stern word for Kolisi that another infraction will result in a yellow card.
54 mins: An excellent deep lineout earns an immediate penalty advantage which allows Australia to go through. They probe right, then left, but there are no openings and play goes back to the offense. Again in the left corner.
53 mins: Australia almost survive scrum feeding and…