Australia beat South Africa 42-38 in Perth despite being reduced to 11 players in a chaotic final quarter.
Australia beat South Africa 42-38 at Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday. The Wallabies survived four yellow cards in the final 15 minutes to keep coach Les Kiss unbeaten.
An Even Opening
South Africa (2.00) made 13 changes to the side that beat the All Blacks in Baltimore. Handre Pollard opened the scoring with a penalty in the second minute. Ryan Lonergan responded with a penalty three minutes later to level the scores.
The Springboks then rolled their maul upfield, and hooker Johan Grobbelaar crashed over for his first Test try. That gave South Africa a 10-3 lead. Australia (202.05) settled slowly but found their rhythm through centre Len Ikitau. He scored under the posts following a clever lineout play, with Lonergan levelling at 10-10.
Ikitau’s Double Puts Australia Ahead
Ikitau struck again four minutes later after Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii plucked a high ball from Aphelele Fassi’s arms. Suaalii, playing on the wing for the first time in a Test, tapped it back for Ikitau to score. Lonergan’s conversion made it 17-10.
South Africa hit back when Edwill van der Merwe finished a sweeping move sparked by a brilliant Canan Moodie break. Pollard converted to make it 17-17. Australia had the final say before halftime, with Ben Donaldson crossing in the corner after a multiphase move. Lonergan’s conversion gave the hosts a 24-17 half-time lead.
Australia Pull Clear
Lonergan kicked penalties in the 46th and 53rd minutes to stretch the lead to 30-17. Ikitau limped off, replaced by Harry Potter. Captain Harry Wilson then powered over from a quick tap penalty in the 58th minute. The conversion made it 37-17.
Max Jorgensen added a breakaway try in the 63rd minute after Moodie dropped a simple pass. Australia led 42-17 with fewer than 20 minutes remaining. The result appeared settled at that point.
Chaos In The Final Quarter
Wilson received a yellow card for head contact with Malcolm Marx, and South Africa won a penalty try. Lonergan was sin-binned for cynical play, and Suaalii followed for offside. Morne van den Berg scored for South Africa, and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted to make it 42-31.
Hunter Paisami was then sent to the sin bin for a high tackle, leaving Australia with only 11 players. Ox Nche scored his first Test try, and the Springboks closed the gap to 42-38. Australia earned a penalty for obstruction after the restart and kicked the ball into touch.
“It’s shit to lose, and it’s not because of the long touring,” Erasmus said. “We weren’t good enough and Australia were better,” he added.
The 42 points conceded was the most in the Erasmus era since 2018. The win gave the Wallabies the Mandela Challenge Plate for the first time since 2022.
