AUSTRALIA started the match with a brilliant try and finished with one, but they were very lucky to win. For most of the match, between those spectacular bookends, they handed the initiative to South Africa, gave away far too many penalties and were generally second best.
In the end, it was a dubious refereeing decision and a single, but catastrophic, error by the Springboks that enabled the home side to scrape home. The decision, by George Clancy of Ireland, was to issue Bryan Habana with a yellow card for a high tackle on Adam Ashley-Cooper with 15 minutes remaining.
It wasn’t just that it was cruel to sin-bin Habana in his 100th Test, it was that the tackle was hardly dangerous and that Ashley-Cooper, who ducked down and was spun round by the shoulder, made it look worse than it was. The surprise was that Clancy stood by his initial decision after reviewing the incident on the big screen.
As a result, Australia had 10 minutes against 14 men to score the 10 points they needed to take a scarcely deserved lead. A penalty from in front of the posts two minutes later left them searching for a converted try. Australia’s wave of attacks was thwarted time and again by desperate last-ditch defence until South Africa were awarded a penalty.
With Habana now eligible to return, a kick to touch was required to relieve the siege. But Morne Steyn missed touch, which left Habana on the sidelines and gave Australia one further chance to attack. They did so with great incisiveness. Israel Folau, who had scored the first try in the first minute, combined with Kurtley Beale, who injected pace after coming on as a replacement, and gave Rob Horne a chance to run at the Springbok defence. A side-step and a burst of acceleration were enough.
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That error and thrust turned the game on its head. Australia had opened with real intent, with Folau diving over after a clever dummy and slip-pass by Matt Toomua, but after that South Africa gradually exerted control.
The Springboks played a mostly conservative game but they did summon one terrific move in the first half in which Jean de Villiers and Jan Serfontein moved the ball to the right wing with terrific speed and sleight of hand for Cornal Hendricks to side-step inside the last defender to score.
Three points down at the interval, Australia came out chargin. A typical drive by Michael Hooper, the best of their forwards, led to a penalty by Bernard Foley, which brought the scores level.
Three penalties in a row re-established South Africa’s dominance and Australia seemed bereft of ideas until Habana was sent from the field.
Thus Australia, who were outclassed by New Zealand last time out, chalked up their first win in The Rugby Championship.
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This was a match that had moments of thrilling class, but which was ultimately defined by mistakes.
Star man: Israel Folau (Australia)
Scorers: Australia: Folau 2, Horne 78 Con: Foley Pens: Foley (4)
South Africa: Try: Hendricks 13 Pens: Steyn (6)
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Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Attendance: 43,000
Australia: I Folau; A Ashley-Cooper, T Kuridrani, M Toomua (K Beale 72min), R Horne; B Foley, N Phipps; J Slipper (P Cowan 52min), J Hanson, S Kepu (B Alexander 66min), S Carter (J Horwill 59min), R Simmons, S Fardy (M Hodgson 70min), M Hooper, W Palu (S Higginbotham 59min).
South Africa: W Le Roux; C Hendricks, J Serfontein, J De Villiers, B Habana; M Steyn, R Pienaar; T Mtawarira (T Nyakane 69min), A Strauss (BW Du Plessis 60 min), J Du Plessis (M Van der Merwe 66min), E Etzebeth (L De Jager 72min), V Matfield, F Louw (P Lambie 69min), M Coetzee, D Vermeulen